Donald Trump has again said that the US has “total control over the strait of Hormuz”, adding that Iran’s leadership was so hobbled by infighting that it was unclear who was in charge.
But the US president’s claim seemed questionable in the face of the seizure of two container ships by Iranian commandos and a US report warning it could take six months to clear the strait of mines.
Trump’s comments on Thursday came after US special forces boarded a stateless oil tanker in the Indian Ocean, which the Pentagon claimed was carrying Iranian crude oil.
The military operation took place hours after Iran’s seizure of the two container ships, with the two sides continuing to impose competing blockades on the strait, keeping global oil prices at about $100 (£74) a barrel.
While US forces have proved capable of stopping ships coming out of Iranian ports, they have still not demonstrated the capacity to open the strait to vessels coming from ports in allied Gulf states.
Trump claims US has total control of strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes two container ships
The impact of the dual blockades has been compounded by the presence of sea mines in the strait. In a briefing to Congress, the Pentagon warned it could take up to six months to clear all the suspected mines from the sea routes, according to a report in the Washington Post.
EU risks fallout with US over Trump-linked Balkans pipeline plan
The EU risks a confrontation with Donald Trump after it sought to stall the awarding of a lucrative Balkans pipeline contract to a company fronted by his personal lawyer, documents seen by the Guardian show.
Brussels has clashed with Trump over trade, Ukraine and military spending, but the intervention in the Southern Interconnection pipeline project appears to mark the first time it has challenged a commercial venture by those close to the president.
Senate Republicans advance plan to fund immigration crackdown amid DHS shutdown
Senate Republicans on Thursday approved a plan to fund Donald Trump’s crackdown on undocumented immigrants for the remainder of his term and pave the way for an end to the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Trump administration moves to reclassify marijuana to schedule III drug
The Trump administration has moved to reclassify marijuana, more than four months after Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the attorney general to move it from schedule I to schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
The schedule I classification meant marijuana was alongside heroin, LSD, MDMA and synthetic opioids, whereas a schedule III classification put it in the same category as ketamine, anabolic steroids and testosterone.
RFK Jr agenda suffers another loss as trans advocates hail ‘huge step forward’
A federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s ban on gender-affirming care for children on Saturday, decrying Robert F Kennedy Jr’s “wanton disregard” for the law that “causes very real harm to very real people”.
Trump to host bash for crypto investors tied to his coin sales
Donald Trump is slated to star at a cryptocurrency bash on 25 April at his Mar-a-Lago club for scores of purchasers of his crypto memecoin $Trump that has enriched him while in office. The move is fueling renewed criticism from top Democrats and ethics watchdogs that he is using the presidency for financial gains in a break with ethical norms.
NYT alleges FBI investigated reporter over story on Kash Patel’s girlfriend
The FBI began investigating a New York Times reporter after the newspaper published a story raising concerns about the security arrangements surrounding the girlfriend of Kash Patel, the FBI director, the Times has reported.
What else happened today:
-
The US Department of Justice’s office of the inspector general (OIG) announced on Thursday that it is launching an audit of the justice department’s compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
-
At least one person has been killed and five people were injured and transported to the hospital Thursday when two groups exchanged gunfire inside the food court at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge, according to police.
-
Cuts to the Social Security Administration have caused “customer service chaos” for millions of older Americans and those with disabilities who rely on the agency’s services, according to a new report from a group of Democratic senators.
-
Lockheed Martin’s CEO has called the Trump administration a “golden opportunity” for the defense engineering company as it expands its contracting work for the federal government amid the conflict in the Middle East.
-
Meta and Microsoft are trimming their workforces by thousands as they make heavy investments in AI and executives claim that the technology is meeting their companies’ productivity needs.
-
More than two dozen members and associates of the Mexican mafia were arrested during an early morning crackdown in southern California, federal authorities said on Thursday.
Catching up? Here’s what happened Wednesday 22 April.