Iran Installs Additional Mines in Hormuz... Trump Orders "Shoot Without Hesitation"

Small vessel of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

It has been reported that Iran recently installed additional naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

US online media outlet Axios reported on the 23rd (local time), citing officials, that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz this week.

This is the second time Iran has laid mines since the outbreak of the war.

The US military detected and tracked Iran's mine-laying activities in advance and reported the facts to President Donald Trump.

Subsequently, President Trump revealed via social media Truth Social that he had instructed the US Navy to fire upon and sink any vessels installing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

He emphasized, "I ordered them to shoot and sink any vessel, no matter how small. There should be no hesitation."

The US estimated that it destroyed more than 90% of Iran's large mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities in the early stages of the airstrikes, but it is analyzed that mine stockpiles still remain in coastal areas.

Iran is also known to use small, fishing-boat-sized vessels for mine installation.

These small vessels can also be equipped with rocket launchers and machine guns, serving as a means of threatening merchant ships.

It is estimated that Iran installed fewer than 100 mines during its first mine-laying operation after the war.

The US military is known to have identified the scale of additional mines installed by Iran, but has not disclosed specific figures.

The US military is operating underwater drones in the Strait of Hormuz to remove mines, and has deployed mine countermeasure vessels.

Meanwhile, the US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush arrived today in the area of responsibility of the Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees US forces in the Middle East.

As the number of US aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East increases to three, the naval blockade against Iran is expected to be further strengthened.

US Navy aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush