President Donald Trump said Tuesday that U.S. forces had destroyed 10 Iranian vessels he described as “inactive” but capable of laying naval mines as tensions escalate over the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement came after the president said there were no reports of Iran laying such mines but threatened military actions “at a level never seen before.”
“I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Prior to the destruction of Iranian ships, Trump said Iran would face military consequences similar to those deployed in counterdrug operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific, saying that mine-layers would be “dealt with quickly and violently. BEWARE!”
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies normally pass through the narrow passage connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, making any disruption a major threat to international energy markets.
Iran has reportedly laid a few dozen mines in recent days. While much of the country’s navy has been destroyed, CNN reported that it had retained enough small boats to lay mines in the waterway, possibly to block shipping and retaliate for U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military and infrastructure targets.
Trump threatened Iran on Monday evening as well and said the country would be hit “20 times harder” if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz was disrupted.
House Republicans, at a retreat near Miami on Tuesday, hoped for the best as oil and gas prices rose.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) offered optimism, saying gas prices “will come back down,” but it could take a “couple of weeks.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), back in Washington, hoped for a swift end to the war.
“I am, obviously … always concerned about the price of oil, the price of gasoline,” he said. “I think the best outcome is a fairly speedy resolution to the operations that are underway.”
The warnings come as the conflict has already disrupted shipping through the strait and contributed to volatile oil markets and supply concerns worldwide.
Trump’s comments also come amid confusion within the administration over whether the U.S. Navy has begun escorting oil tankers through the strait.
TRUMP VOWS TO HIT IRAN ‘TWENTY TIMES HARDER’ IF IT STOPS FLOW OF OIL IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ
Energy Secretary Chris Wright posted on social media earlier Tuesday that the Navy has successfully escorted an oil tanker through the strategic waterway to ensure energy shipments continued.
Wright later deleted the post after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified during a scheduled press conference that no commercial ships had yet been escorted through the strait.
