Trump to oil tanker captains: 'Show some guts'

President Donald Trump this week said that oil tankers operating in the Strait of Hormuz should attempt to navigate the critical waterway despite the ongoing between the U.S. and Iran that has seen Tehran target shipping.

Major shipping firms such as Maersk and Cosco have suspended cargo bookings and Lloyds of London has declined to insure many vessels, forcing Trump to direct the U.S. government to do so.

“These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there’s nothing to be afraid of," Trump said on Fox News. "They have no Navy, we sunk all their ships."

Though the Iranian Navy has sustained heavy losses, Tehran's ability to harass shipping in the Strait is not limited to naval activity and it has already targeted oil tankers attempting to move through the strait via other means. Iranian forces hit an oil tanker earlier this month off the coast of Oman, for instance.

Trump has sought to stabilize oil markets in the wake of the conflict. Many firms in the region have sustained damage to their production equipment and declared force majeure for their current contracts.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.