APTOPIX Iran War

The U.S. military hsa seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil. The move on Thursday ratcheted up a standoff with Iran a day after its paramilitary Revolutionary Guards took control of two vessels in the crucial Strait of Hormuz. The Defense Department released video footage of U.S. forces on the deck of the oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean. It said U.S. forces would continue global maritime enforcement to disrupt “illicit networks and interdict vessels” that provide support to Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he has ordered the U.S. military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats that deploy mines to choke traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s post on social media Thursday came shortly after the U.S. military seized another tanker associated with the smuggling of Iranian oil. That ratcheted up a standoff with Tehran over the strait through which 20% of all crude oil and natural gas traded passes. The Defense Department released video footage of U.S. forces on the deck of the oil tanker Majestic X, which was seized in the Indian Ocean. Trump also announced that a ceasefire in Lebanon would be extended by three weeks.