US Navy clears all mines from Strait of Hormuz: Trump

US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US Navy has removed all naval mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict between the two countries.

Trump made the claim in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Tuesday.

He also warned that any Iranian warship or vessel sent to the strait to lay mines again would be destroyed.

“The US Navy, with the help of US satellite and Space Force assets, has thoroughly searched every inch of the Strait of Hormuz and cleared it of mines,” Trump said. He added that the US military had been ordered to adopt a “zero-tolerance” policy and destroy any warship or vessel attempting to lay mines again.

The 167-kilometre-long Strait of Hormuz is a vital route for global energy trade, with about one-fifth of the world’s energy products passing through it. Iran lies on one side of the strait and Oman on the other.

After the war with the US began on February 28, Tehran imposed a blockade on foreign vessels in the strait. The US responded by announcing a blockade of Iranian maritime ports. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) subsequently laid more than a dozen naval mines across the strait.

In mid-March, Trump announced that US forces would clear the Strait of Hormuz of mines. In mid-April, the US military deployed specialised Littoral Combat Ships to the area for the operation.

At the time, the US Department of Defense said it could take up to six months to completely clear the strait.

Four months after that estimate, Trump has now announced that the mine-clearing operation has been completed.

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