New Delhi — Updated 02:00 AM IST, April 24, 2026
A Reuters screen grab shows Iranian guards seizing a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz as diplomatic tensions between Washington and Tehran hardened after President Donald Trump ordered U.S. naval forces to “shoot and kill any boat” laying mines in the strategically vital waterway.
Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he had directed the U.S. Navy to engage small craft that are placing mines in the Strait, adding that there should be “no hesitation.” He wrote that U.S. mine-sweepers were clearing the channel and that he had instructed those efforts to be intensified “at a tripled-up level.” In the same post he said vessels could not enter or leave the Strait “without the approval of the US Navy” and described the passage as “Sealed up Tight, until such time as Iran is able to make a deal.”
Tehran pushed back, saying it will not reopen the waterway until the U.S. ends what Iran describes as a maritime blockade imposed during the ceasefire. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of Iran’s parliament and a chief negotiator, wrote on X that reopening the Strait is impossible while the blockade and what he called the “hostage-taking of the world’s economy” continue. He added that a ceasefire is meaningless if the maritime restrictions remain and if “Zionist warmongering” persists. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged diplomacy and negotiations rather than pressure.
The standoff and the risk of mines have effectively halted traffic through the Strait. MarineTraffic data showed almost no vessel transits in the period examined; only the Greek-owned bulk carrier LB Energy had passed in the prior 12 hours. The disruption pushed crude prices higher, with Brent crude reaching about $93.32 a barrel amid the uncertainty.
U.S. Central Command said the number of ships turned away under its naval blockade of Iranian ports had risen to 31. Separately, U.S. forces carried out what the U.S. Department of War described in a post on X as “a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding” of another sanctioned tanker carrying Iranian oil in the Indian Ocean.
Earlier, Trump suggested internal turmoil in Iran over its leadership and claimed the U.S. had “total control over the Strait of Hormuz,” while accusing infighting between hardliners and moderates in Tehran. The sharp rhetoric from both sides has increased fears that the Strait could remain effectively closed for an extended period, with significant implications for global shipping and energy markets.
