American military forces began the process for clearing of sea mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz on April 11, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said after two US Navy guided-missile destroyers conducted the operations as the US and Iran held peace talks in Islamabad.
It was not immediately clear if Iran was fine with the plan and the operation.
The military statement came just after US President Donald Trump declared on social media that the “Strait of Hormuz will soon be open”. He wrote on Truth Social, “The United States has completely destroyed Iran’s Military, including their entire Navy and Air Force, and everything else. Their Leadership is DEAD!”
What US Central Command said
“USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps,” said the US Command in a public statement.
Additional forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.
“We began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
The Strait of Hormuz is an international sea passage and an essential trade corridor that supports regional and global economic prosperity, the statement noted.
Its blockade by Iran since the war was started by US and Israel on February 28 gave it massive geopolitical leverage, leading to a two-week ceasefire last Wednesday.
Talks are now being held in Islamabad with Vice President JD Vance leading the American side, and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and foreign minister Abbas Araghchi among the Iranian negotiators.
Trump gave indication
Earlier, there was a report that at least one US warship made a u-turn after Iran’s warning to strike within 30 minutes. The two ships, however, passed through the strait with no issues reported, The Wall Street Journal reported thereafter citing three US officials. Then came the military statement confirming it.
The blockade of the Hormuz Strait has so far been the key geopolitical leverage held by Tehran throughout the war started by US and Israel, forcing a two-week truce last Wednesday.
While the exact time of the ant-mine operation was not known, the CENTCOM statement about it came just hours after Trump said that “we are now starting the process of clearing out” the narrow sea passage in the Persian Gulf.
Trump made three Truth Social posts on similar lines.
In the one just before reports of the two warships’ passage, he claimed Iran has been “losing big”. He wrote that “the only thing they (Iran) have going is the threat that a ship may ‘bunk’ into one of their sea mines” in the Strait of Hormuz.
