Trump orders Navy to target mine-laying boats in Strait of Hormuz, jet fuel shortage threatens flights

President Donald Trump raised the stakes in the Strait of Hormuz, saying he had ordered the U.S. Navy to “shoot and kill” any boat he says is laying mines in the narrow waterway. He said U.S. minesweepers were already clearing the strait at a “tripled up” level, a stark escalation as tensions around the Gulf corridor remained volatile.

The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, carries about one-fifth of global oil production. That makes it one of the world’s most sensitive energy chokepoints, where a single security threat can ripple through shipping costs, crude prices and the broader market. Reporting on the mine-clearing effort said the work could take as long as six months, a timeline that shows how quickly a battlefield problem can turn into a protracted economic drag.

The same day, Chevron chief executive Mike Wirth warned that air travelers could face higher fares and fewer flights in the coming weeks because of a jet fuel shortage tied to the Iran war. He made the warning on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, where the shortage was presented as a direct threat to airline operations, not just refinery balance sheets. If jet fuel tightens further, carriers may be forced to cut capacity or pass costs to passengers, adding pressure to already expensive travel.

The issue also anchored The Takeout with Major Garrett on April 23, where the Strait of Hormuz standoff and the jet fuel disruption were treated as connected stories rather than separate headlines. That framing reflected the larger risk now facing markets: military brinkmanship in the Gulf is already touching consumer prices, travel reliability and investor confidence. A threat in one shipping lane is moving fast into the daily cost of flying, and the economic fallout could outlast the immediate confrontation at sea.