WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had ordered the United States Navy to “shoot and kill” any small boats laying mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be, that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The US President added that “there is to be no hesitation” and claimed that US mine sweepers were already clearing the waterway.
Trump said the operation to secure the strait would continue at an intensified pace. “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled-up level,” he wrote.
No vessel can pass through Hormuz without US approval
In a separate post, Trump said Iran was “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is”, describing internal divisions between “hardliners” and “moderates”.
He also claimed that the United States “controls” the Strait of Hormuz and that no vessel could pass without US Navy approval.
US intercepts Iranian oil vessel
Meanwhile, the US Department of War said American forces had intercepted and boarded a vessel transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean.
In a statement posted on X, the department said US forces conducted a “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding” of the sanctioned, stateless vessel M/T Majestic X within the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the department said.
It added that international waters could not be used as a shield by sanctioned actors and pledged to deny such vessels freedom of manoeuvre.
Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
We will continue global maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4
— Department of War 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) April 23, 2026
Pakistan continues efforts to resume US-Iran talks
Trump’s remarks come as Pakistan continued diplomatic efforts to sustain the ceasefire between the US and Iran.
Earlier this week, Trump said Washington had agreed, at the request of Pakistan, to extend the ceasefire with Iran and delay military action to allow time for negotiations.
However, no deadline has been set for a proposal or talks, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
Pakistan has been attempting to bring back both Washington and Tehran to the negotiation table after planned talks in Islamabad failed to take place before the expiry of a two-week ceasefire.
The first round of high-stakes US-Iran talks in Islamabad held earlier this month also ended without agreement. However, the Islamabad Talks paved the way for further negotiations and diplomacy to end the conflict through dialogue.
Global energy risks
The escalating situation has raised concerns over global energy security.
The head of the International Energy Agency warned on Thursday that the world is facing the “biggest energy security threat in history” due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told CNBC that global markets have already lost around 13 million barrels per day of oil supply, alongside major disruptions in critical commodities.
Before the conflict, roughly 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products passed through the strait.
It is now effectively under what Birol described as a “double-blockade”, with neither Iran nor the United States allowing vessels to pass.
The IEA has warned that prolonged disruption could weaken global economic growth, fuel inflation, and potentially lead to energy rationing, underscoring the strategic importance of the waterway.
