US forces say they're attacking small boats that Iran uses to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz
Screenshot via X/Central Command
- The US says it's begun attacking small mine-laying vessels used by Iran near the Strait of Hormuz.
- It's unclear if the strait has been mined, though Trump has said the US received no such reports.
- The US now relies on Independence-class ships for demining, but they've been criticized as unreliable.
The US said on Tuesday that it struck multiple Iranian naval vessels, including 16 ships used to lay mines, near the Strait of Hormuz — a waterway responsible for roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil trade.
US Central Command posted apparent footage of the strikes in a social media post, showing munitions falling on stationary small boats while docked or at sea.
"US forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz," the post said.
The footage was released amid fears that Iran may seek to mine the strait in retaliation for a joint US-Israeli airstrike campaign that began on February 28. Traffic through the strait has dropped almost completely, after about 10 commercial ships came under attack over the last week.
The slowdown has roiled global energy markets, with oil futures spiking to nearly $120 a barrel on Sunday, before plummeting below $100 as President Donald Trump publicly hinted that the Iran war may taper off. Meanwhile, the US has reportedly been exploring backend options to ease supply, such as easing oil sanctions.
CNN reported on Tuesday, citing two unnamed US sources, that Tehran had started sparsely mining the strait. These sources said a few dozen mines were laid, which is just a fraction of what Iranian forces could fully deploy.
Trump said in a late Tuesday post on Truth Social that the US had "received no reports" of Iran mining the strait, but threatened Tehran with further military action should it choose to do so.
"If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before," Trump wrote.
The president further urged Iran to remove any potential mines in the strait, saying it would be "a giant step in the right direction."
Some commercial shipping firms have hoped that the US might provide escorts through the strait, though the Pentagon has so far been unwilling to release naval assets for that purpose.
Should Iran extensively mine the waterway, however, airstrikes and escorts alone wouldn't be enough to free it up.
The US now relies on its Independence-class littoral combat ships to conduct minesweeping and clearing in the region, after decommissioning its aging Avenger-class fleet last year.
In January, the four Avenger vessels in the Persian Gulf were sent back to the US for scrapping. Their replacements are counter-mine modules, such as underwater drones and towed sensors, equipped on the littoral combat ships.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Iain Page
But these de-mining tools are new and largely operationally unproven, and have been criticized for their reliability in detecting threats and clearing them in turbulent waters, among other issues.
Independence-class ships are also metal-hulled and larger than the Avenger-class minesweepers, which have hulls made of fiberglass and wood to reduce their magnetic signature.
Meanwhile, Israel said on late Tuesday that it has continued to strike Iran and Lebanon, while nearby Gulf nations reported battling yet another salvo of Iranian drones and missile attacks.