Donald Trump has vowed that Iran will be hit “twenty times harder” if it continues to disrupt global trade through the Strait of Hormuz, threatening “military consequences” at “a level never seen before” if the country fails to remove any naval mines it may have placed in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The warning came as the US president intensified his rhetoric over security in the narrow passage linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, a critical route through which a significant share of the world’s oil supply flows.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday afternoon, Trump said his administration had “no reports” confirming that Iran had deployed mines in the strait — a narrow passage linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes — but insisted that if any had been laid, “we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” the president wrote. “If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”
Trump added that any vessels attempting to deploy mines in the waterway would “be dealt with quickly and violently”. Shortly afterwards he claimed in a second post that “within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow!”
The warning followed reports from CNN and CBS that Iran had begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz. CNN reported, citing people familiar with US intelligence, that a few dozen mines had been placed in recent days and that Iranian forces could potentially deploy hundreds more.
Trump had already warned on Monday night that the US would strike Iran “twenty times harder” than it already had if Tehran attempted to block oil shipments through the strait.
“We will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back as a nation again,” he said. “Death, fire, and fury will reign upon them. But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen.”
Emphasising the global significance of the shipping route, Trump described the continued openness of the strait as beneficial to other major energy-importing nations.
“This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those nations that heavily use the Hormuz,” he wrote. “Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated.”
Senior administration figures later reinforced the president’s warning. At a Pentagon briefing, defence secretary Pete Hegseth said: “He [Trump] takes very seriously the condition of that Strait. We have capabilities that no nation on earth has, and we’re certainly working with our energy partners across the Administration.”
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “President Trump will not allow rogue Iranian terrorists to stop the freedom of navigation and the free flow of energy.”
Iranian officials swiftly rejected the threats. Security official Ali Larijani wrote on social media that Tehran did not fear “empty threats”. According to a translation by the Associated Press, he ended his post with the warning: “Be careful not to get eliminated yourself.”
The conflict, now in its 11th day, has effectively halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz as Iran targets oil tankers in the area. Shipping costs have surged as companies are forced to reroute vessels along longer alternative paths, while some insurers have withdrawn war-risk cover for oil shipments amid mounting uncertainty.
The disruption has sent energy markets sharply higher, with prices for crude oil and liquefied natural gas rising. Early on Monday, crude topped $100 a barrel for the first time since Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Trump has previously dismissed concerns over the economic impact, describing the surge as a “small price to pay” for “safety and peace”.
However, oil prices fell sharply when global markets opened on Tuesday, dropping by as much as $25 a barrel from Monday’s highs after the president suggested the conflict might soon end.
In a phone interview with CBS, Trump said he believed the war in Iran was “very complete” and claimed Washington was “very far ahead” of its initial four-to-five-week timeline. Insisting that repeated US and Israeli strikes had largely destroyed Iran’s military capabilities, he said: “If you look, they have nothing left. There’s nothing left in a military sense.”
Later in the day, however, he struck a different tone when speaking to Republican lawmakers at a House policy retreat in Florida, fuelling confusion over the war’s status.
“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” Trump said. “We go forward more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all.”
Last week Trump called on Iran to accept “unconditional surrender”, a demand firmly rejected by Tehran. Iran has since named Mojtaba Khamenei as the new supreme leader following the killing of his father, Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes — a move widely seen as signalling the hardline regime’s determination to continue the conflict.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, struck a defiant tone on Monday, calling the US attacks a “failure” and vowing to continue fighting.
“Yes, they have attacked many of our facilities. They have attacked our nuclear facilities, but they couldn’t destroy our nuclear program because it is technology advanced and developed by ourselves,” he said in an interview with PBS. “So the firings continue. And we are prepared. We are well prepared to continue attacking them with our missiles as long as needed and as long as it takes.”
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