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Trump: 'Shoot, Kill' Iranian Boats 04/24 06:10
President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to "shoot and kill"
small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, announcing the
move Thursday a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic
through the channel.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- President Donald Trump has ordered the
U.S. military to "shoot and kill" small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the
Strait of Hormuz, announcing the move Thursday a day after Iran again displayed
its ability to thwart traffic through the channel.
Trump also announced that a ceasefire in Lebanon would be extended by three
weeks.
His post on social media about the small boats came shortly after the U.S.
military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil,
ratcheting up a standoff with Tehran over the strait through which 20% of all
crude oil and natural gas traded passed during peacetime.
"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small
boats though they may be ... putting mines in the waters of the Strait of
Hormuz," Trump posted, adding that U.S. minesweepers "are clearing the Strait
right now."
"I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!"
he added.
The decision to extend a pause in fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah
militant group in Lebanon came during a meeting at the White House between the
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the United States.
Meanwhile, it was still unclear when, or if, the U.S. and Iran would meet
again in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, where mediators are trying to bring
the countries together to reach a diplomatic deal ending that conflict.
Negotiations initially planned this week have not happened. Iran insists it
will not attend until the U.S. ends its blockade on Iranian ports and ships.
The White House insists it will not take part until Tehran opens the strait to
international traffic.
Pope Leo XIV, returning home from a trip to Africa, urged the U.S. and Iran
to return to talks to end the war.
Footage shows US forces on deck of tanker
The Defense Department released video footage of U.S. forces on the deck of
the oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean. The ship had
been flying a Guyanese flag, though the South American nation of Guyana said it
was not registered there
The footage emerged a day after Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard
attacked three cargo ships in the strait, capturing two of them, in an assault
that raised new concerns about the safety of shipping through the waterway.
The powerful head of Iran's judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei, said
three "violating ships" in the strait were "subject to enforcement" Wednesday.
"The show of strength by the armed forces of Islamic Iran in the Strait of
Hormuz is a source of pride," he wrote Thursday on X, claiming the Americans
"lack the courage" to approach the strait.
Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri
Lanka and Indonesia, roughly the same location as the oil tanker Tifani, seized
earlier by American forces. It had been bound for Zhoushan, China.
Majestic X previously was named Phonix and had been sanctioned by the U.S.
Treasury Department in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in contravention of
U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Guyana said in a statement the Majestic X was not registered in the South
American nation.
"While the name of the vessel has changed, the (International Maritime
Organization) number remains recorded in the international database as PHONIX.
There is no record of this vessel or name in Guyana's registry. Therefore, the
ship is FRAUDULENTLY flying the Guyana flag," Guyana's Maritime Administration
Department said.
There was no immediate response from Iran about the seizure.
Trump claims leadership rift in Iran
Trump this week extended a ceasefire to give the Iranian leadership more
time to come up with a "unified proposal" on ending the war, while maintaining
an American blockade of Iranian ports.
In a post Thursday, Trump claimed a leadership rift between moderates and
hard-liners was confounding Iran. "Iran is having a very hard time figuring out
who their leader is! They just don't know!" Trump said.
Trump has repeatedly said during the ceasefire that began April 8 that his
team is dealing with Iranian officials who want to make a deal, while
acknowledging that his decision to kill several top leaders has come with
complications.
Iran's president and its parliament speaker posted statements on social
media declaring the country has no hard-liners or moderates.
"We are all Iranians and revolutionaries," they said.
A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Trump's claim of a
leadership rift was a "deflection." Other Iranian officials said on social
media that the country was united.
Trump, while speaking to reporters at the White House, pushed back against
questions about the conflict exceeding the four-to-six-week timeline that he
and aides previously set for the war.
"I don't want to rush myself," Trump said, adding that the U.S. "took the
country out" militarily in the first four weeks.
"Now all we're doing is sitting back and seeing what deal" can be made. "And
if they don't want to make a deal, then I'll finish it up militarily," Trump
said.
He said he would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran.
Meanwhile, three aircraft carriers were in the region after the USS George
H.W. Bush arrived in the Indian Ocean. One carrier was in the Arabian Sea and
another was in the Red Sea, military officials said.
Talks between Lebanon and Israel lead to truce extension
Trump said a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington
"went very well" and resulted in a ceasefire extension for Israel and the
Hezbollah militant group.
"The United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect
itself from Hezbollah," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.
The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah started after Israel and the
U.S. launched attacks on Iran and the Tehran-backed militants fired rockets
into northern Israel. The ceasefire first took effect for a 10-day period
starting Friday.
Underscoring the truce's fragility, Israel's military said it struck missile
launchers in Lebanon that had fired into its borders. Hezbollah said it fired
at the Israeli town of Shtula in response to Israeli attacks on the Lebanese
village of Yater.
Lebanon's public health ministry said an Israeli airstrike killed three
people further north, in the area of Nabatiya. The Israeli military said it
killed three militants who launched a missile toward an Israeli warplane.
Each side has accused the other of breaching the truce.
Trump reiterated that the U.S. continues to demand that Iran stop it's
backing of Iranian-allied militias in the Mideast, including Hezbollah in
Lebanon, as part of any deal between Washington and Tehran to end the U.S. war
on Iran.
"Yeah, they'll have to cut that," Trump said to a reporter's question about
aiding Hezbollah. "That's a must."
Threats to shipping persist
Since the Feb. 28 start of the war between Iran, Israel and the United
States, over 30 ships have come under attack in the waters of the Persian Gulf,
the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman.
The threat of attack, rising insurance premiums and other fears have stopped
traffic from moving through the strait. Iran's ability to restrict traffic
through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has
proved a major strategic advantage.
Jakob Larsen, the head of maritime security for BIMCO, the largest
international association representing shipowners, said in a note Thursday that
most shipping companies need a stable ceasefire and assurances from both sides
of the conflict that the strait is safe for transit.
The threat of mines, he wrote, was a "particular concern" if traffic might
return to normal levels one day.
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