The US is ramping up its minesweeping operations in the Strait of Hormuz — after US officials reportedly found that Iran had dropped more mines in the narrow oil chokepoint, which has been effectively shut down for weeks.
“Our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social Thursday. “I am hereby ordering that activity to continue, but at a tripled-up level!”
It remains unclear what the current extent of the US minesweeping operations are in the waterway, but at least four anti-mine vessels are deployed to the region.
On Thursday, Axios reported that US sources believe Iran has been caught laying additional sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz — through which 20% of the oil passes when it’s open.
The president also said that he ordered the Navy to “shoot and kill” any Iranian boat that is caught trying to drop mines in Hormuz.
“There is to be no hesitation.”
The issue of mine clearing in the water has been a major issue — both during the war, and for the cleanup of the Strait after it.
Politico reported Thursday that British military divers are preparing to carry out mine-clearing operations in the strait as part of a potentially multinational effort, with Royal Navy specialists trained in explosive ordnance disposal ready to deploy alongside autonomous mine-hunting systems, according to the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense.
The UK and other European nations have spent weeks talking about a broader coalition mission to secure the waterway and restore safe navigation.
But so far, those efforts have largely remained in the planning stages.
So far, the USS Chief and Pioneer minesweepers were ordered to leave their naval base in Japan to help neutralize the Iranian mines, with the littoral combat ship USS Tulsa departing the Strait of Malacca on April 2.
All three vessels, whose location have yet to be updated by maritime trackers, feature mine countermeasure capabilities that can locate and neutralize Iran’s mines.
The USS Canberra, another littoral combat ship, is in the Gulf, but it’s unclear if it has gone into the Strait of Hormuz to clear the mines.
Along with the ships, the US has also deployed underwater drones into the Strait of Hormuz to take out Iran’s mines, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Fully clearing the strait, however, could take up to six months, the Pentagon allegedly told Congress, according to the Washington Post. The Defense Department dismissed the report as “false.”
The Trump administration has suggested that there are only a few mines in the strait that are more a nuisance than an actual threat, but cargo ships and tankers have yet to brave the waters over the risks.
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