Trump Just Took Out 28 Iranian Mine Ships and Told Oil Companies What Comes Next

Iran set three cargo ships on fire in the Strait of Hormuz this morning.

Trump responded by hunting down and destroying 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels – and then told oil companies exactly what he expects them to do.

Operation Epic Fury Has Iran Running the Same Play It Lost in 1988

This is not America's first war in the Hormuz.

In 1987, Iran mined these same waters during the Iran-Iraq Tanker War – attacking hundreds of commercial ships and nearly sinking the USS Samuel B. Roberts with a mine that blew a hole through her hull. President Reagan's response was Operation Praying Mantis: American forces destroyed Iranian naval platforms, sank an Iranian frigate, and blew apart Iran's small boat fleet in a single day.

Iran backed down. The strait stayed open.

Four decades later, Tehran is running the same playbook. Drone strikes on tankers. Mine-laying boats dispersed across the waterway. Threats to set any passing ship ablaze. The IRGC has stockpiled an estimated 6,000 naval mines – Iranian, Chinese, and Russian-built – and was moving to seed them into the shipping lanes.

Trump didn't wait.

CENTCOM destroyed 16 Iranian minelayers Tuesday, with video of the strikes released the same night. By Wednesday, Trump told reporters the total stood at 28 mine ships eliminated. "They started talking about mines, so we hit 28 mine-ships as of this moment," he said outside the White House.

Oil Prices Are High Now and Iran Wants to Keep Them That Way

The Strait of Hormuz is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. Twenty percent of the world's daily oil supply passes through it. One disabled supertanker blocking the channel could halt that flow for weeks – and an oil spill in those narrow waters could extend the shutdown for months.

Japan gets 70 percent of its Middle Eastern oil through this waterway. Pakistan has already asked Saudi Arabia to reroute shipments through the Red Sea. Asian fuel reserves are measured in weeks, not months.

Iran understands this math better than anyone. That is why their IRGC naval commander declared that any ship aiming to pass must obtain Iran's approval – or face attack. That is why they hit the Thai cargo ship Mayuree Naree Wednesday morning, setting it ablaze with most of its 23 crew rescued by Oman.

One mine. One blocked channel. Global energy shock.

Trump Is Ahead of Schedule and Pulling No Punches

CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper said Wednesday that U.S. forces have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships. "U.S. combat power is building," Cooper said. "Iranian combat power is declining."

Trump has been more direct. "They have no Navy," he told Fox News' Brian Kilmeade. "We sunk all their ships." On Truth Social Tuesday, he warned Iran that if any mines remain in the strait, "the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before." And to shipping companies he offered a challenge – "show some guts" and push the ships through.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the war objectives at a Pentagon briefing this week: destroy Iran's missile infrastructure, eliminate its navy, and permanently deny Tehran a nuclear weapon. Hegseth called the U.S. "winning" and said Iran had been "racing" toward a nuclear bomb.

The analysts predicting a prolonged stalemate are reading a different war than the one on the ground.

Iran's navy is on the bottom of the Gulf. Its air defense is gone. Its radar is gone. Funerals for senior military commanders – including the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and the IRGC commander-in-chief – drew crowds in Tehran on Wednesday while U.S. strikes continued overhead. The IRGC is now firing drones at civilian airports in Dubai and launching missiles from civilian ports because its military infrastructure no longer exists.

Reagan stopped Iran in one battle in 1988. Trump has struck 5,500 targets in 12 days.

Chuck Schumer is already calling this "Donald Trump's war" and demanding the president tap the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. He opposed refilling that same reserve when Trump tried to do it at low prices in his first term.

The strait will reopen. The only question Iran gets to answer is how much is left of their country when it does.

Sources:

• "Projectiles Hit Three Cargo Vessels in and Near Strait of Hormuz as Closure Continues," The Washington Times, March 11, 2026.
• "CARGO SHIP STRUCK IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ AS IRAN LAUNCHES DRONE, MISSILE ATTACKS," Fox News, March 11, 2026.
• "Live Updates: Trump Vows to End War Soon as Iran Hits Ships," CBS News, March 11, 2026.
• "Live Updates: At Least 3 Ships Attacked Near Strait of Hormuz," NBC News, March 11, 2026.
• "Trump Vows Unprecedented Response If Iran Disrupts Strait of Hormuz," Time, March 10, 2026.
• "Iran Conflict and the Strait of Hormuz: Impacts on Oil, Gas, and Other Commodities," Congressional Research Service / Congress.gov.
• "Operation Praying Mantis," Wikipedia / Naval History and Heritage Command.