American President Donald Trump announces on his Truth Social network that he has ordered the US Navy to “shoot and destroy any ship, no matter how small, that lays mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There should be no hesitation,” reports AFP and The Associated Press.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to fire and destroy any ship, no matter how small, that lays mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz“, he writes. “There should be no hesitation“, demands the White House chief.
“In addition, our ‘minesweepers’ are about to clear the Strait of Hormuz right now. I hereby order this operation to continue, but at a pace three times more intense!”, writes the American head of state on his platform.
The complete clearing of the Strait of Hormuz from mines placed by Iran could take up to six months, and such an operation is unlikely to begin before the end of the conflict between the United States and Iran, according to an assessment transmitted by the Pentagon to Congress, writes The Washington Post.
The Trump administration insists that Iran abandon its nuclear program and fully reopen the strait, while Tehran conditions the resumption of negotiations on the lifting of the naval blockade imposed by the USA.
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, stated that American forces targeted Iranian ships suspected of potentially installing mines, asserting that they are destroyed “with relentless precision.”