(ATTN: ADDS more info in paras 9-12)
By Song Sang-ho
WASHINGTON, April 23 (Yonhap) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday the Strait of Hormuz is “sealed up tight” until Iran is able to make a deal with the United States to end hostilities, as he ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” any boat laying mines in the vital waterway.
Trump made the remarks in two social media posts, as the U.S. military has been doubling down on its naval blockade against the Islamic Republic, interdicting another vessel transporting oil from Iran in the Indian Ocean and reportedly escorting an Iranian oil tanker in the same ocean.
“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 on Truth Social. “It is ‘Sealed up Tight,’ until such time as Iran is able to make a DEAL!!!”
This photo, released by the Associated Press, shows U.S. President Donald Trump speaking during an event in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington on April 21, 2026. (Yonhap)
Trump has said the Iranian government is seriously fractured and unable to put forward a coherent peace proposal to the U.S. — a reason why he has announced an extension of a ceasefire with Tehran until it submits a “unified” response.
“Iran is having a very hard time figuring out who their leader is! They just don’t know!” he wrote in the same post. “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!”
In a separate post, Trump announced his order to shoot any ships putting mines in the Strait of Hormuz in a warning against Iran, which seeks to assert control over the strait, a vital shipping route for oil, fertilizer and other commodities.
“I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on Truth Social
“There is to be no hesitation. Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now. I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled up level!”
Later in the day, Trump dismissed media speculation that he is anxious to reach a deal to end the war with Iran, saying that a deal will only be made “when it’s appropriate and good for the United States of America, our Allies and, in fact, the rest of the World.”
“Please be advised that I am possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position. I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn’t — The clock is ticking! The reason some of the Media is doing so poorly with Subscribers and Viewers is because they no longer have credibility,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“Iran’s Navy is lying at the bottom of the Sea, their Air Force is demolished, their Anti Aircraft and Radar Weaponry is gone, their leaders are no longer with us, the Blockade is airtight and strong and, from there, it only gets worse — Time is not on their side!”
Meanwhile, tensions heightened as the U.S. sent USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, toward the Middle East, U.S. Central Command said, adding to its naval presence in the region. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) are also operating in the region.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
(END)
