US destroys 10 Iranian minesweeper vessels; Trump warns "there will be more"

Istanbul – US President Donald Trump stated on Tuesday (10 March) that his forces had destroyed 10 Iranian vessels used for laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The action came mere minutes after Trump warned that Iran would face unprecedented military consequences if it failed to remove mines from the shipping route.

“We have struck and completely destroyed 10 minesweeping ships and/or boats that are inoperable, and there will be more,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) had destroyed the vessels “with brutal precision” under Trump’s direction.

“We will not allow terrorists to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage,” Hegseth wrote on social media platform X.

He added that Iran had been formally warned.

US officials said Tehran uses small vessels, each carrying two to three mines. However, Trump noted that the US has no reports that Iran has actually placed mines on the shipping route.

Trump said the US would employ similar missile technology, previously used to target drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean, to target any vessel attempting to lay mines in the strait.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critically important maritime route, with more than 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products passing through daily – accounting for approximately 20 per cent of global consumption.

On Monday (9 March), Trump vowed that the Strait of Hormuz would remain “safe” and stated Iran would be attacked 20 times harder if it took any action to stop oil flow.

Escalation in the Middle East has intensified since US-Israeli strikes that killed more than 1,200 people, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. At least eight US military personnel have also been reported killed since the military operation began.