President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill” anyone placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that “there should be no hesitation.”
"Additionally, our mine “sweepers” are clearing the Strait right now," Trump posted. "I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!"
The escalated rhetoric comes the same day the U.S. military seized an Iran-linked ship in the Indian Ocean. The Department of Defense said the vessel was transporting oil from Iran and was reportedly headed to China.
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
"We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate," the U.S. military said.
Iran has also taken a more aggressive posture at sea. The paramilitary Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz, seizing two of them.
Despite the rising tensions, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran. He has said he would await a unified proposal from Iran, claiming the government is fractured.
"Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know!" Trump said on Thursday. "The infighting is between the “Hardliners,” who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the “Moderates,” who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!"
Iran has not acknowledged any fractures within the leadership and has cast doubt on negotiations with the U.S. as long as there's a blockade on Iranian ports.
“They did not achieve their goals through military aggression, nor will they through bullying,” Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said. “The only way forward is to recognize the rights of the Iranian nation.”
