Trump orders military to 'shoot and kill' Iranian small boats choking Strait of Hormuz
A cargo ship sails in the Persian Gulf toward the Strait of Hormuz, April 22, 2026.
PHOTO: Associated Press file
US President Donald Trump has ordered the US military to "shoot and kill" Iranian small boats choking the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post Thursday morning (April 23), he said the military is intensifying its mine clearing efforts in the critical waterway. The move intensified the US-Iran standoff in the Persian Gulf and raised questions about efforts to end the war.
Later Thursday, Trump said Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah by three weeks after talks at the White House. The meeting Thursday was the second high-level negotiation between the two countries since last week. The initial 10-day ceasefire, which took effect last Friday, had been due to expire Monday.
Meanwhile, the US military said it seized another tanker Thursday associated with smuggling Iranian oil, the Majestic X, in the Indian Ocean, deepening confusion over efforts to end the war. The seizure comes after a day after Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz, capturing two of them. Ship-tracking data showed the Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia.
The standoff between the US and Iran has effectively choked off nearly all exports through the Strait of Hormuz, where 20 per cent of the world's traded oil passes in peacetime, with no end in sight.
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