Iran seized two ships, the first since the war began, as it discourages commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the U.S. blockade.

"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be (Their naval ships are ALL, 159 of them, at the bottom of the sea!), that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.

The directive to turn its weapons on the boats adds a new element to the Navy's mine-clearing operations in the strait, which began this month.

It’s extremely hard for Iranians to decipher what the next move of the president is,” Iran expert Sina Azodi tells CNN’s Becky Anderson after Trump’s latest maritime threat.

President Trump’s latest threats came after the Pentagon said the U.S. military had boarded a second tanker carrying oil from Iran. Both sides are trying to exert authority over shipping amid uncertainty over the status of peace talks.

The announcement came as talks set to take place between U.S. and Iranian delegations in Pakistani were postponed amid uncertainty about the broad strokes of a deal.

U.S. ⁠President Donald ​Trump ‌said on ‌Thursday ⁠that Iran ⁠may have loaded ​up ​their weaponry "a little ⁠bit" during ⁠the ⁠two-week ceasefire, ​but added ​that ⁠the ⁠U.S. military can knock that out ⁠in about one day.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said his war against Iran is intended to prevent Tehran from ever getting a nuclear weapon. But when it comes to core nuclear issues, he risks ending up with a worse deal than the one he abandoned in his first term.