President Donald Trump on Thursday said he has ordered the U.S. Navy “to shoot and kill” any vessels attempting to lay mines in the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.

“Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”

U.S. officials have not confirmed that Iranian vessels are actively deploying mines in the waterway, but say the military has taken a series of precautionary steps amid heightened tensions with Iran. The narrow shipping corridor handles a significant share of the world’s oil traffic, making any disruption a potential global economic flashpoint.

Trump paired the military directive with a barrage of posts highlighting what he described as dysfunction within Iran’s leadership. “Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know!” he wrote.

The comments come as questions swirl around the status of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since taking power following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei. Multiple reports indicate he was seriously injured in the strike that killed the elder Khamenei, fueling uncertainty about who is directing decision-making in Tehran.

In practice, power appears to be consolidating within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose hardline commanders are widely believed to be steering wartime strategy. At the same time, civilian officials — including parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi — are seen as more open to negotiating a ceasefire with Washington.

“The infighting is between the ‘hardliners’ who have been losing BADLY on the battlefield, and the ‘moderates,’ who are not very moderate at all (but gaining respect!), is CRAZY!” Trump wrote.

The White House has argued that those internal divisions have prevented Tehran from delivering a unified response to the latest U.S. proposal for a permanent ceasefire, prompting Trump to extend a temporary truce that had been set to expire earlier this week.

Trump also claimed sweeping U.S. control over the key maritime route. “We have total control over the Strait of Hormuz. No ship can enter or leave without the approval of the United States Navy,” he wrote. “It is sealed up tight until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)