It’s hard to say who is actually in charge of Iran these days. Word is there’s an internal power struggle between moderates in parliament and what remains of the IRGC hardliners. But whoever it is, they continue to play stupid games with President Trump, and in the process, win stupid prizes:
President Trump announced in a Thursday morning Truth Social post that he has commanded the U.S. Navy to conduct deadly strikes against any boats placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” the president declared in the post.
“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! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he added.
The Navy, under Trump’s orders, has also been “redirecting” ships out of the Strait of Hormuz and maintaining a strict blockade to choke Iran financially:
The Pentagon released video Thursday showing U.S. forces carrying out “a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.”
“We will continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt illicit networks and interdict vessels providing material support to Iran, wherever they operate,” the Department of War said.
“International waters cannot be used as a shield by sanctioned actors. The Department of War will continue to deny illicit actors and their vessels freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain,” it added.
Ship-tracking data shows the oil tanker Majestic X in the Indian Ocean between Sri Lanka and Indonesia — near where U.S. forces previously interdicted and boarded another stateless sanctioned tanker, the Tifani. The vessel had been headed for Zhoushan, China, according to The Associated Press.
The incident follows a sharp escalation just one day earlier, when Iran attacked three cargo ships in the Strait of Hormuz and reportedly captured two of them — intensifying threats to a critical global shipping lane that carries about 20% of the world’s oil during peacetime.
The Majestic X, which sails under a Guyana flag, was formerly known as the Phonix and was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2024 for smuggling Iranian crude in violation of U.S. sanctions, the AP reported.
Overnight, U.S. forces carried out a maritime interdiction and right-of-visit boarding of the sanctioned stateless vessel M/T Majestic X transporting oil from Iran, in the Indian Ocean within the INDOPACOM area of responsibility.
We will continue global maritime enforcement to… pic.twitter.com/SWF6Jt9Ci4
— Department of War ?? (@DeptofWar) April 23, 2026
U.S. forces have now redirected 33 vessels since the start of the blockade against Iran. pic.twitter.com/m8v95FYabB
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 23, 2026
The Pentagon said these operations are part of global enforcement of U.S. sanctions to “disrupt illicit networks and interdict sanctioned vessels providing material support to Iran — anywhere they operate.” Trump seems to have made that clear, but the Iranians still haven’t gotten the message.
It comes in mens and womens and lets your friends know you're happy to express your views and don't care what anyone thinks! Cheers!
