Trump orders Navy to shoot any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz amid ceasefire
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he ordered the US Navy to "shoot and kill" any small vessel caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz as a ceasefire between Washington and Tehran continues.
cumhuriyet.com.tr"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat ... that is putting mines in the waters,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding that there is “to be no hesitation” in executing the order.
He claimed that the entirety of Iran's naval fleet, consisting of 159 ships, lies “at the bottom of the sea" and any boat laying mines would be "small boats."
The president also commanded an immediate tripling of minesweeping activities to clear the transit route, which Iran effectively disrupted following the beginning of the US-Israeli offensive on Feb. 28.