- The Pentagon says US forces boarded a tanker carrying Iranian oil.
- Says it will continue maritime enforcement of illegal networks.
- Ceasefire is meaningful only if not violated through blockade: Ghalibaf.
TEHRAN: President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered the US Navy to destroy any Iranian boat caught laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, putting more pressure on a frayed ceasefire as disruptions from the Gulf stand-off hit the world economy.
Trump’s announcement came after the US Navy boarded a vessel in the Indian Ocean carrying oil from Iran and after a senior Iranian official said Tehran had posted its first revenue from the tolls it levies on shipping through the strait.
With plans for renewed peace talks in Pakistan hanging in the balance, several fuel-hungry airlines canceled flights, oil prices edged higher once again and the closely watched S&P Global PMI index showed that business activity in the euro zone fell for the first time in 16 months.
“I have ordered the US Navy to shoot and kill any boat, even small boats… that mine the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote.
Iran vowed it would keep the strait closed to all but a smattering of authorized vessels as long as the US Navy blockades its ports, rejecting demands from Trump to both reopen Hormuz and hand over its enriched uranium.
The US responded to Iran’s action by imposing its own blockade of Iranian ports, and on Thursday the Pentagon announced on social media that US forces had “imposed a maritime interdiction and right of access on board the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X carrying oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean”.
The post included footage of US military personnel rappelling from helicopters onto the deck of a large tanker.
The statement said the US would “continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict ships that provide material support to Iran, wherever they operate”.
‘Not possible’
While strikes around the region have mostly ceased since the two-week-old ceasefire began, there has been no slowdown in the confrontation over Hormuz, with both sides seeking economic leverage – only for Trump to announce an indefinite ceasefire to make way for more talks.
“A complete ceasefire has meaning only if it is not violated through a naval blockade,” said Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led Tehran’s delegation at a first round of talks in Pakistan.
“Reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is not possible due to a clear violation of the ceasefire.”
Ghalibaf’s deputy, Hamidreza Hajibabaei, said Iran received its first revenue from tolls it imposes on ships seeking to cross the Hormuz, a route that in peacetime accounts for a fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows and other vital commodities.
Analysts said Tehran, particularly its hardline leaders linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), believe Iran’s blockade gives it enough economic leverage to force Washington to back down on its key demands in peace talks.
And some, such as Danny Citrinowicz of the Tel-Aviv Institute for National Security Studies, criticized Israel and the United States for misunderstanding the Iranian government’s position.
“Tehran has consistently shown a willingness to absorb economic pain while holding on to what it sees as core national interests. There is little reason to believe this time will be any different,” he said in a social media post.
“Instead of moving toward concessions, Iran is positioning itself for escalation.”
A brief from the Soufan Center think tank said Iran’s hardliners “argue that a prolonged rise in global energy prices and increasing global shortages of some commodities will increasingly pressure Trump to accede to Iran’s positions, end the war and ultimately withdraw US forces from the region.
“Trump and his team are calculating the opposite – that the US blockade of Iran’s seaborne trade, which carries all of its oil exports, will quickly cripple Iran’s economy and force Iran to accept US demands.”
Peace talks
On Wednesday, Trump said New York Post that talks could resume in Pakistan within two to three days, although Iran has not confirmed participation, and Vice President JD Vance put his trip to Islamabad on hold Tuesday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday they forced two ships to the Iranian coast from the Strait of Hormuz.
The US military’s Central Command said ahead of Thursday’s announcement that its forces blockading Iran’s ports had so far “directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port”.
After agreeing to the cease-fire with Iran, the United States helped broker a cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon, including Hezbollah.
Despite the declared ceasefire, Israeli strikes killed five more people on Wednesday, Lebanese media said.
Israel and Lebanon will hold a second round of talks in Washington on Thursday, where Beirut will request a one-month extension of the ceasefire during the meeting, according to a Lebanese official.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 2,450 people since the start of the war, according to Lebanese authorities.
