US President Donald Trump has instructed the Navy to attack any Iranian boats laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement came amid a high-stakes standoff over the critical waterway, as Washington maintains a naval blockade on Iranian ports while Tehran seizes ships that try to transit the Strait without permission.
Targeting Iranian Boats
In a post on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said he ordered the military to destroy any boats placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There is to be no hesitation,” he wrote.
Hours before Trump’s announcement, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said that US Navy Secretary John Phelan would be departing “effective immediately.”
Sources told Reuters that Phelan was ousted due to tensions with War Secretary Pete Hegseth and disagreements over shipbuilding reform.
Mine Clearance
Trump also said that the US is conducting mine-clearance operations in the Strait of Hormuz. “Additionally, our mine “sweepers” are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!” he noted.
According to the Pentagon’s estimates, clearing mines in the strategic waterway could take up to six months, the Associated Press (AP) reported citing a person familiar with the matter.
The source said that the Department of War passed the information to American lawmakers during a classified briefing at the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical maritime corridor linking the Arabian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, through which around a fifth of daily global oil supplies and LNG supplies pass.
European Efforts
Last week, more than 50 leaders from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America took part in a summit co-hosted by Britain and France.
The leaders agreed to launch a multinational defensive mission, spearheaded by the UK and France, to protect commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and conduct mine clearance operations after the US-Israeli war with Iran is over.
Late on Wednesday, Italy expressed readiness to contribute up to four vessels, including two minesweepers, to the multinational mission.
“The contingency plan drawn up by the Chief of the Defense Staff envisages a group consisting of two minesweepers, an escort vessel and a logistics vessel,” Navy Chief of Staff Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto told state broadcaster RAI.
He added that other countries, including Britain, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, would also deploy minesweepers as part of the mission.
US Naval Blockade
The US has enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports, as it ramps up pressure on Tehran to reach a deal that ends the war. Although Trump has extended the temporary ceasefire with Iran, he has kept the blockade in place.
Early Thursday, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said that its forces “have directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of the US blockade against Iran.”
Furthermore, the US military has intercepted at least three Iranian-flagged tankers in waters near India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka, Reuters reported citing two US and Indian shipping sources and two separate Western maritime security sources.
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
The Pentagon published a video footage on Thursday showing US forces boarding the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean.
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” it said.
The US military also seized on Sunday the Iranian cargo ship Touska off the coast of Iran’s Chabahar port while it was enroute from China.
Iranian Show of Force
In parallel, Iran seized two container ships – Panama-flagged MSC Francesca and Greek-operated Epaminondas – near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday for operating without permission. The ships have been taken to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, sources told Reuters.
“Some 20 Iranians armed to the teeth stormed the ship. Sailors are under Iranians’ control, their movements on the ship are limited, but the Iranians are treating them well,” a relative of one of the seafarers told Reuters.
The Iranian state TV published a video of masked troops with rifles boarding the two ships. According to Tasnim news agency, the Revolutionary Guards seized the ships due to “maritime violations” and warned that any disruption to order and safety in the strait would be considered a “red line.”
Moreover, Iran said it has received the first revenue from tolls imposed on the Strait of Hormuz, as it attempts to tighten its grip on the strategic shipping route.
“The first revenue received from the Strait of Hormuz tolls was deposited into the Central Bank account,” deputy speaker of parliament Hamidreza Hajibabaei said, as quoted by Tasnim news agency.
