The top US commander for the Middle East said that American forces have cleared Iranian mines from the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington’s allies expressed doubts about similar claims by President Donald Trump.
The work was carried out by Navy divers and SEALs, as well as aircraft. American officials rejected that assessment. Bessent is leading an effort to try to isolate Iran’s economy with a wave of sanctions and curbs in a bid to force Tehran’s capitulation. The Islamic Republic has insisted throughout the conflict it controls the strait, and the status of the waterway has been a key sticking point in on-off talks with the US.
But they believe that operations haven’t cleared all of the estimated 80 to 150 mines laid by the Iranians. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US had guided 130 million barrels of oil out through Hormuz over the past 14 days, according to a post on X. Because they were discussing internal assessments, the US is likely to have made some progress, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named.
Admiral Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command , said in the three-and-a-half-minute video released Thursday night that “over the past few months, our forces meticulously and quietly” cleared the international shipping lanes of mines. One person familiar with the US position, who also asked not to be named, said those figures were outdated. Earlier this week, Iran’s military said it reached a revenue-sharing deal on Hormuz with Oman, which sits along the artery’s southern edge.
