President Donald Trump issued a direct order today (Thursday) to the United States Navy to open fire on any vessel identified as engaging in naval sabotage activities in the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump has made it clear that freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a red line for the US administration.
In a tweet he posted, he wrote: "I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any vessel, there must be no hesitation. Even if it is small boats, smelling of mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. Their naval vessels, all 159 in number, are at the bottom of the sea! There will be no hesitation.".
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""In addition, our mine clearance vessels are currently working to clear the strait. I hereby order this activity to continue and even increase it threefold!".
Alongside the military moves, Trump sharply attacked Iran's leadership and claimed that the country is in internal political chaos that prevents it from making decisions.
He tweeted: "Iran is having a hard time understanding who its leader is. They simply don't know. The internal struggle between the 'extremists', who are losing badly on the battlefield, and the 'moderates', who are not very moderate but are respected, is crazy.".
""We have complete control of the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without permission from the US Navy. The strait is 'sealed tight' until Iran can close a deal.".
The post he shared read: "If there are two factions in Iran – one that wants an agreement and one that doesn't, let's kill the side that doesn't want one.".
Various reports around the world claim that Iran has carried out a variety of tricks to evade the American blockade of its ports.
Reports claim that Iranian ships turned off their AIS - Automatic Identification System - devices, preventing satellite tracking of the vessel's location.
Satellite images recorded recently show dozens of vessels leaving Iran.
