Donald Trump has ordered American forces to fire on any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz . "I have ordered the United States Navy to open fire and destroy any vessel, no matter how small, laying mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. There must be no hesitation," the president said on his social media account, Truth. "Furthermore, our minesweepers are clearing the Strait at this very moment. I am therefore ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled level," he emphasized.
Meanwhile, the president has not set a firm deadline for his proposal to Iran: he will dictate the timing of the ceasefire , White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said, calling the idea of a ceasefire lasting three to five days "inaccurate."
And if Trump, quoted by the New York Post, claims that talks could resume as early as Friday, Tehran immediately denied it, entrusted to the Pasdaran: "We have not made any decision regarding talks with the US on Friday" .
The bone of contention for the resumption of negotiations is the US naval blockade of Hormuz , where yesterday Tehran seized two MSC container ships: "A complete ceasefire makes no sense if it is violated by a naval blockade, and the reopening of Hormuz is impossible as long as the truce is openly disregarded," warns the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Italian Chief of Staff Giuseppe Berutti Bergotto said last night that the Italian Navy could send four minesweeping vessels to the Strait of Hormuz if an international operation were to be established in a non-conflict scenario .
"The prudent planning implemented by the Chief of Defense Staff calls for a group of two minesweepers with an escort unit and a logistics unit," the admiral said. "We're not going alone, but as part of an international coalition: other nations will also send minesweepers. In Europe, France, the United Kingdom, and a joint Dutch-Belgian group have minesweepers."
(Unioneonline)
