President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has ordered American naval forces to open fire on any Iranian vessel believed to be laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, something he previously claimed was not happening.
Trump's Directive on Truth Social
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered the U.S. 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,” the president added. Trump also claimed American minesweepers are currently clearing the narrow waterway “right now” and said he was ordering the minesweeping efforts to “continue ... at a tripled up level.”
Context of the Threat
The president’s threat against any Iranian mine-laying vessels comes over a month after he claimed to have destroyed most of Iran’s mining capacity while simultaneously denying that Iran was placing any mines in the strait, a key transit point for roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply each year. It’s unclear to what extent U.S. forces will be able to easily clear what mines have been placed in the strait, as the American Navy is relying on unproven drone technology based on a pair of Littoral Combat Ships, small combatant craft that were never designed for minesweeping.
Decommissioned Minesweepers
Although the U.S. once had a force of four purpose-built Avenger-class minesweepers permanently stationed in the Persian Gulf region for the express purpose of clearing any mines Tehran might lay in the Strait of Hormuz, the Trump administration sidelined those ships ahead of the currently conflict by decommissioning them this past fall. And even as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continued to ratchet up over the last few months, the Pentagon continued with plans to bring the ships back to the U.S. for disposal this past January by contracting for their transportation on the semi-submersible cargo ship M/V Seaway Hawk, which left Bahrain for Philadelphia this past January. Photographs released by the Pentagon on Jan. 21 show the Seaway Hawk carrying the four decommissioned minesweepers while being escorted by the Littoral Combat Ship U.S.S. Canberra — one of the troubled class of vessel which the Navy is pressing into service as a replacement for the minesweepers.
Failed Peace Talks and Iranian Infighting
Trump’s directive to sink any Iranian mine-laying craft comes as the tenuous ceasefire between Washington and Tehran enters a third week after an 11th-hour extension announced by Trump after a planned round of talks in Islamabad fell apart amid what the White House described as infighting and indecision within Iran’s government more than a month after U.S. and Israeli airstrikes killed much of the Islamic Republic’s leadership. In a separate Truth Social post, Trump said Iran was “having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is” and claimed “infighting” between “hardliners” and “moderates” is at a “CRAZY” state right now. The president also claimed the U.S. — not Iran — is maintaining “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz. “No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy. It is ‘Sealed up Tight’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL,” he said.
