US President Donald Trump warned Iran against laying mines the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday while Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged the “most intense day of strikes” yet, as tensions over the critical shipping lane escalate amid soaring oil prices.While the US “has no reports” of Iranian operatives putting any mines in the Hormuz Strait, if they were placed and “not removed forthwith”, the military consequences for Iran “will be at a level never seen before”, Trump said in a social media post on Tuesday afternoon.
Trump added that the US is using the same technology and missile capabilities deployed against drug traffickers to “permanently eliminate” any boat or ship attempting to mine the strait.
The US president’s latest threats against Iran came after media reports on Tuesday saying that Iran had begun laying mines in the strait to disrupt shipping in the key waterway.
A US B-1 bomber takes off from an airbase in Fairford, Britain on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
Trump also said on social media minutes later that he was “pleased to report” that within the last few hours, the US had “hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow”.
Tuesday will be the “most intense day of strikes” inside Iran so far, Hegseth said earlier in the day, adding that Trump will ultimately decide the war’s timeline.