Trump Orders Navy to Shoot Down Vessels Mining the Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON DC — US President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the US Navy to shoot and destroy any vessel attempting to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most vital maritime chokepoints for global oil trade.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said there would be "no hesitation" from the US side in carrying out the order, and announced that mine-sweeping operations in the Strait were being tripled.

"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be, that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There is to be no hesitation," Trump wrote, adding that mine-clearing activity would continue "at a tripled-up level."

GPS-Guided Mines Making Clearance Difficult

The remarks come against a backdrop of significant concern within the US military establishment about the complexity of the mine-clearing task ahead.

According to a US House Armed Services Committee briefing reported by The Washington Post, the Pentagon had informed Congress that clearing naval mines allegedly laid by the Iranian military could take up to six months — a timeline that has reportedly triggered frustration among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

Sources told the publication that Iran may have deployed 20 or more mines within the Strait, with a senior defence official confirming that some were "deployed remotely using GPS technology" — a sophisticated method that makes them significantly harder to detect and neutralise.

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Pentagon Pushes Back on Six-Month Timeline

The Pentagon has since disputed aspects of the reporting, labelling some claims as inaccurate and criticising the disclosure of information from what it described as a classified briefing.

Pentagon spokesman Parnell told CNN that a "six-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an impossibility and completely unacceptable" to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth — signalling that the administration intends to move faster than the congressional briefing suggested.

A Critical Chokepoint Under Pressure

The Strait of Hormuz handles a significant portion of the world's international crude oil trade, making any sustained disruption a major concern for global energy markets.

Mining activity in the waterway reportedly began in March, coinciding with ongoing US and Israeli military operations in the region. Iran has linked the reopening of the Strait to the lifting of the US naval blockade on its ports — a condition Washington has shown no signs of accepting.

Energy costs, lawmakers warn, could remain elevated even if a broader peace deal is eventually reached, as long as the mine clearance operation remains incomplete.