Sixteen Iranian vessels have been blown out of the water after Tehran allegedly began seeding the Strait of Hormuz with mines — and Iran’s parliament speaker has responded by declaring the country has no interest in a ceasefire and intends to make the « aggressor » pay.
Trump broke the news on Truth Social, saying American forces had « hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine-laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow. » US Central Command followed up with a fuller accounting, putting the number of mine-layers « eliminated » near the strait at 16.
The strikes came hours after Trump had drawn a sharp line in the sand. Any attempt to mine the Hormuz Strait — the chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes — would bring consequences at a « level never seen before, » he warned. « If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY! » he said.
Echoes of Venezuela
The technology being brought to bear is the same that has been deployed against drug traffickers in the Caribbean.
« We are using the same Technology and Missile capabilities deployed against Drug Traffickers to permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait, » Trump said. « They will be dealt with quickly and violently. »
The scale of Iran’s mining effort appears to have been limited. CNN put the number of mines actually laid at around a dozen.
That figure sits well below Iran’s estimated total stockpile of between 2,000 and 6,000 mines, assembled over years using Chinese and Russian designs, reports the Telegraph.
‘No ceasefire’
Any hope of a negotiated pause was extinguished on Tuesday evening by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliament speaker and former senior Revolutionary Guards commander. « Certainly we aren’t seeking a ceasefire, » he said. « We believe the aggressor must be punished and taught a lesson that will deter them from attacking Iran again. »
Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, put the human cost of eleven days of conflict in stark terms on Tuesday evening. Around 1,300 civilians have lost their lives, he said, with US-Israeli strikes having hit nearly 10,000 civilian sites — among them 8,000 residential homes.
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