{"id":12200,"date":"2026-04-24T05:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:17:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/24\/trump-orders-us-military-to-shoot-and-kill-iranian-small-boats-choking-strait-of-hormuz-ap-news\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T05:17:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T05:17:16","slug":"trump-orders-us-military-to-shoot-and-kill-iranian-small-boats-choking-strait-of-hormuz-ap-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/04\/24\/trump-orders-us-military-to-shoot-and-kill-iranian-small-boats-choking-strait-of-hormuz-ap-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump orders US military to \u2018shoot and kill\u2019 Iranian small boats choking Strait of Hormuz – AP News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to \u201cshoot and kill\u201d small Iranian boats that deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz<\/a><\/span>, announcing the move Thursday a day after Iran again displayed its ability to thwart traffic through the channel.<\/p>\n

Trump also announced that a ceasefire in Lebanon would be extended<\/a><\/span> by three weeks.<\/p>\n

His post on social media about the small boats came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker<\/a><\/span> associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil, ratcheting up a standoff with Tehran<\/a><\/span> over the strait through which 20% of all crude oil and natural gas<\/a><\/span> traded passed during peacetime.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d Trump posted, adding that U.S. minesweepers \u201care clearing the Strait right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/span> to reach a diplomatic deal ending that conflict.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV<\/a><\/span>, returning home from a trip to Africa, urged the U.S. and Iran to return to talks<\/a><\/span> to end the war.<\/p>\n

Footage shows US forces on deck of tanker<\/h2>\n

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<\/p>\n

The footage emerged a day after Iran\u2019s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard<\/a><\/span> 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. <\/p>\n

The powerful head of Iran\u2019s judiciary, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei<\/a><\/span>, said three \u201cviolating ships\u201d in the strait were \u201csubject to enforcement\u201d Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe show of strength by the armed forces of Islamic Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is a source of pride,\u201d he wrote Thursday on X, claiming the Americans \u201clack the courage\u201d to approach the strait.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Guyana said in a statement the Majestic X was not registered in the South American nation. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile 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\u2019s registry. Therefore, the ship is FRAUDULENTLY flying the Guyana flag,\u201d Guyana\u2019s Maritime Administration Department said. <\/p>\n

There was no immediate response from Iran about the seizure.<\/p>\n

Trump claims leadership rift in Iran<\/h2>\n

Trump this week extended a ceasefire<\/a><\/span> to give the Iranian leadership more time to come up with a \u201cunified proposal\u201d on ending the war, while maintaining an American blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n

In a post Thursday, Trump claimed a leadership rift between moderates and hard-liners was confounding Iran. \u201cIran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don\u2019t know!\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s president and its parliament speaker posted statements on social media declaring the country has no hard-liners or moderates.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are all Iranians and revolutionaries,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Trump\u2019s claim of a leadership rift was a \u201cdeflection.\u201d Other Iranian officials said on social media that the country was united.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want to rush myself,\u201d Trump said, adding that the U.S. \u201ctook the country out\u201d militarily in the first four weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow all we\u2019re doing is sitting back and seeing what deal\u201d can be made. \u201cAnd if they don\u2019t want to make a deal, then I\u2019ll finish it up militarily,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

He said he would not use a nuclear weapon against Iran.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Talks between Lebanon and Israel lead to truce extension<\/h2>\n

Trump said a second round of talks between Israel and Lebanon<\/a><\/span> in Washington \u201cwent very well\u201d and resulted in a ceasefire extension for Israel and the Hezbollah militant group.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States is going to work with Lebanon in order to help it protect itself from Hezbollah,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social platform.<\/p>\n

The latest war between Israel and Hezbollah<\/a><\/span> 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.<\/p>\n

Underscoring the truce\u2019s fragility, Israel\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

Lebanon\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Each side has accused the other of breaching the truce.<\/p>\n

Trump reiterated that the U.S. continues to demand that Iran stop it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, they\u2019ll have to cut that,\u201d Trump said to a reporter\u2019s question about aiding Hezbollah. \u201cThat\u2019s a must.\u201d<\/p>\n

Threats to shipping persist<\/h2>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The threat of attack, rising insurance premiums and other fears have stopped traffic from moving through the strait. Iran\u2019s ability to restrict traffic<\/a><\/span> through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has proved a major strategic advantage.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The threat of mines, he wrote, was a \u201cparticular concern\u201d if traffic might return to normal levels one day. <\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Madhani reported from Washington, and Keaten reported from Geneva.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

This story has corrected that the Majestic X oil tanker had been flying the Guyanese flag not the Guinea flag.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump has ordered the U.S. military to \u201cshoot and kill\u201d 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12200","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12200"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12200\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12200"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12200"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12200"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}