WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he ordered the US Navy to “shoot and kill” any Iranian vessel caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz as a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran continues to hold.Trump also said the US military will heighten its efforts to remove explosives from the strategic waterway.”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.“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 said.Iranian officials have repeatedly promised that their country would defend itself and respond to any US attack.Hormuz – which had been open without interruption before the war – has emerged as a major point of contention in this war.Trump 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.The order comes amid a ceasefire with Iran, which Trump extended indefinitely on Tuesday amid stalled negotiations.The Pentagon told Congress that fully clearing the strait of mines could take up to six months, according to a report by the Washington Post. Lawmakers were told Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the waterway, with some deployed remotely using GPS technology, making detection significantly more difficult, it reported.The debate about mines in the Strait of Hormuz is not new. Trump suggested Iran had removed or was removing the mines, and that most Iranian “mine droppers” had been destroyed in US strikes.But Iran has denied placing mines in the waterway, calling the allegations American propaganda, though Iranian media reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. has issued safe passage maps in the area.Trump claimed in a separate post that Tehran is experiencing intense internal conflict between hardliners, whom he said are “losing badly on the battlefield,” and moderates, who are “not very moderate” but “gaining respect.”Trump asserted that Washington maintains “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, and that no vessel can transit without the consent of the US Navy. He described the strait as being “sealed up tight” until Iran is “able to make a deal.”US forces have directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port as part of Washington’s naval blockade of Iranian ports, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Thursday.In another post, Trump pushed back on reports that he was “anxious” to end the war, saying he was “possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position” and he had “all the time in the world,” adding that Iran did not. “The clock is ticking.”Trump claimed Iran’s navy has been sunk, air force demolished, air defense and radar systems destroyed, and senior leaders killed. He said the blockade is “airtight and strong.””From there, it only gets worse,” he warned, adding that any deal would be made only “when it’s appropriate and good for the United States of America, our allies and, in fact, the rest of the world.”Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump pushed back when asked how long he would maintain the ceasefire, telling a journalist not to rush him and criticized the reporter for comparing the war with prolonged US wars throughout history, including Vietnam, Iraq, the Korean wars and World War II.”I’ve been doing this for six weeks,” he said, adding Iran’s military was “totally defeated,” with the exception of small armed patrol boats “that they have running around with guns in them.””We’ll take them out too when we see them,” said Trump.Trump said he could leave immediately and declare success, claiming it would take Iran 20 years to rebuild. But he said that was not his intention. “I want to have it everlasting,” he said.Iran closed down the strait in response to the US-Israeli military campaign, and it is now suggesting that it has rights to the passage that links the Gulf to the Indian Ocean – parts of which go through Iranian territorial waters.The closure of Hormuz has spiked oil prices, putting political pressure on Trump at home in the US, where the price of one gallon (3.8 litres) of petrol has surpassed $4, up from $3 before the conflict.After a two-week ceasefire came into effect last month, Trump announced a naval siege on Iranian ports and kept it in place even after Tehran announced reopening Hormuz in response to the inclusion of Lebanon in the truce.Iran has set lifting the blockade as a precondition for resuming talks with the US.Trump extended the ceasefire that was set to expire on Wednesday, but Washington has kept its blockade on Iran-linked ships.The Pentagon said on Thursday that the US military conducted a “maritime interdiction and right-of-visit” to a tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean.Earlier this week, the US military also said it seized an Iranian vessel and ordered dozens of others to turn around.Meanwhile, Iran has also captured foreign commercial vessels around the Hormuz Strait, which it said were in violation of naval regulations.The duelling blockades risk re-igniting the war. The US has not set a deadline for the extended truce.The White House said on Wednesday that Trump is “satisfied” with the siege on Iran.
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