The U.S. military commander stated that the Strait of Hormuz had been cleared of mines, but allies doubt this
Kyiv • UNN
Admiral Brad Cooper stated that the shipping lanes had been cleared of Iranian mines. U.S. allies believe that some of the 80–150 mines may remain.
U.S. forces have cleared international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian mines, said U.S. Central Command Commander Admiral Brad Cooper. At the same time, Washington's allies believe that the strait may still be mined, Bloomberg reports, writes UNN.
Details
Cooper said that over the past several months, U.S. forces had been conducting an operation to clear shipping routes of mines. U.S. Navy divers and SEALs, as well as aircraft, were involved.
The circumstances were, to put it mildly, difficult and dangerous, but we got the job done
According to him, international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz are currently open, and vessel traffic is increasing. The strait is a key route for transporting oil, natural gas, and fertilizers from the Middle East.
U.S. allies doubt that the strait has been fully cleared of mines
At the same time, U.S. allies are privately warning that the Strait of Hormuz is likely still mined. People familiar with U.S. assessments believe that the operation carried out may not have neutralized all the mines installed by Iran.
According to them, approximately 80–150 mines are involved. At the same time, U.S. officials reject this assessment and say that the figures cited are outdated.
U.S. President Donald Trump previously called the Strait of Hormuz "very functional" and repeated the claim that there were no mines in it. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said that 130 million barrels of oil had passed through the strait over the past 14 days.