Trump isssues deadly order after US seizes Iranian oil tanker in Indian Ocean
3 min learnUp to date: Apr 24, 2026 02:26 AM IST
President Donald Trump on Thursday stated he has directed the US navy to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats deploying mines within the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions in an important international delivery lane.
In a social media submitTrump stated, “I’ve ordered the US Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats although they could be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, on the backside of the ocean!), that’s placing mines within the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There’s to be no hesitation. Moreover, our mine “sweepers” are clearing the Strait proper now. I’m hereby ordering that exercise to proceed, however at a tripled up stage! Thanks in your consideration to this matter.”
The Strait of Hormuz is a essential maritime chokepoint by which round 20 per cent of world crude oil and pure gasoline commerce passes.
Pentagon says it has seized one other tanker
Trump’s order adopted the seizure of one other tanker related to the smuggling of Iranian oil, additional elevating the stakes within the standoff with Tehran.
In keeping with the Division of Struggle, US forces boarded and seized the Guinea-flagged oil tanker Majestic X within the Indian Ocean. The division additionally launched video footage exhibiting personnel on the vessel’s deck.
“We are going to proceed international maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels offering materials help to Iran, wherever they function,” the Pentagon stated in a press release.
In a single day, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, within the Indian Ocean throughout the INDOPACOM space of accountability.
We are going to proceed international maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4
— Division of Struggle 🇺🇸 (@DeptofWar) April 23, 2026
Ship-tracking information positioned the Majestic X between Sri Lanka and Indonesia, in the same location to the place one other tanker, the Tifani, had beforehand been seized by American forces. The vessel was reportedly en path to Zhoushan, China.
The tanker had earlier operated below the title Phonix and was sanctioned by the US Treasury Division in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude oil in violation of US sanctions. There was no rapid response from Iran following the seizure.
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Latest assaults and escalation at sea
The most recent developments come a day after Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards attacked three cargo ships within the straitcapturing two of them.
Because the begin of the battle on February 28 involving Iran, Israel and the US, greater than 30 ships have been focused throughout the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman, the AP reported.
The continued risk of assaults, coupled with rising insurance coverage prices, has severely disrupted maritime site visitors by the strait. Iran’s capability to limit passage by the slender waterway has emerged as a major strategic lever within the confrontation.
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