Donald Trump has ordered US navy forces in the Strait of Hormuz to 'shoot and kill' any Iranian boats caught laying sea mines, he announced on Thursday on his Truth Social platform, in a move that throws fresh uncertainty over a shaky ceasefire in the Iran war and deepens a crisis already reverberating through global markets.
The escalation came after nearly two weeks of an uneasy truce between Washington and Tehran, a ceasefire that Trump himself had said he would extend indefinitely while insisting there was 'no time frame' for ending the conflict. That pause was fragile even on paper. Iran seized two commercial vessels in the Strait on Wednesday and fired on a third Liberian‑flagged ship, according to shipping companies and maritime security sources, even as US forces maintained a de facto blockade on traffic in and out of Iranian ports.
