President Trump has told the US Navy to destroy any small boats from Iran that are suspected of laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, and to triple the number of operations to find and remove mines. This makes things more tense in the area. Later that same day, US military personnel boarded the Majestic X, a tanker with ties to Iran, in the Indian Ocean.
Trump’s order raises stakes in Hormuz
Trump announced his orders on social media. He said the US military should not hesitate to deal with boats placing mines in this important waterway. He also said the removal of mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be increased immediately.
The US wants to keep this narrow waterway open because people are worried that oil and gas shipments around the world will be interrupted. The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf to the rest of the ocean and carries a very large amount of the world’s oil and gas.
US boards Majestic X between Sri Lanka and Indonesia
The US military says they boarded the Majestic X, which has been sanctioned (officially punished) and isn’t officially registered to any country, overnight in the Indian Ocean. At the time, according to ship tracking information, the tanker was located between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
Footage of the operation shows US soldiers coming down from helicopters onto the deck of the ship. The Majestic X, formerly called Phonix, was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in 2024 for secretly moving Iranian crude oil, according to the US government.
In an update on social media, the Department of Defense said the US forces stopped and searched the Majestic X in the Indo-Pacific region and promised to continue to enforce rules on the ocean to break up illegal activities.
Key developments so far
Here are the main updates from the past day:
– Trump orders shoot-and-kill against mine-laying boats
– Mine-clearing in Hormuz to be tripled
– US boards sanctioned tanker Majestic X
– Operation occurred in the Indian Ocean
– US vows continued maritime enforcement
Conflicting claims about Iran’s naval capabilities
Trump has said that all of Iran’s warships are “at the bottom of the sea,” and mentioned a number of 159 boats. He and Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of Defence, have often stated Iran’s navy is mostly destroyed.
However, it seems Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps still uses smaller, quick boats to cause trouble at sea, including laying mines. This ability continues to create danger for ships, even if Iran doesn’t have many large warships.
Why it matters for global shipping
The Strait of Hormuz is absolutely crucial for the global energy market. If it was closed for a long time, it would cause big problems for the price of oil and gas, insurance for ships and the overall stability of the region.
US government officials say they are stopping ships to prevent them from giving supplies to Iran and to discourage mine-laying. Earlier, the US military took over another oil tanker, the Tifani, in the same part of the Indian Ocean. This shows that the US is looking at and stopping more ships than just those in the Gulf.
What to watch next
Trump’s latest order follows a similar warning he gave last month about ships involved in mining. This newest order makes it official that the Navy can shoot suspected mine layers, while also increasing the work done to find and remove mines.
The Department of Defense has indicated that enforcing these rules at sea will continue. How quickly shipping routes become safe and whether the situation gets even worse will depend on how often ships are stopped and searched, and how much work is done at sea to counter mines.
