Iran was laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz while Donald Trump declared he was thinking of taking it over.
At least two people familiar with U.S. intelligence told CNN Tuesday that Iran began laying mines in recent days, but noted that the operation is still in an early phase. They estimated that Iran has so far only laid a few dozen mines and still retains upward of 80 to 90 percent of its mine-layers, allowing for potentially hundreds of more mine placements within the bottleneck waterway, reported CNN.
The news broke hours after Trump told CBS News that he felt the war was “very complete” and was “thinking about taking [the Strait of Hormuz] over” as a result.
The president’s tune changed very quickly after reports on Iran’s mine operation began to circulate.
“If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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. If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!”
Minutes later, Trump issued another statement, declaring that U.S. forces had “hit and completely destroyed” 10 inactive mine-laying boats in the area.
Situated between Iran and the United Arab Emirates, the Strait of Hormuz is the single most important energy transit point in the world, funneling approximately one-fifth of all crude oil shipments. Tehran has long threatened to close off the strait if Iran were under attack, effectively sealing the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the rest of the open ocean.
The U.S. could be caught in a difficult position if Iran chooses to escalate its mine-laying operation. In January, the Navy decommissioned four Avengers class mine countermeasures ships that were stationed in the Persian Gulf, reported The War Zone at the time. Despite plans to scrap the boats, they vessels were transported to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, via a heavy lift vessel. It was not clear why they were not retained and broken down in the region.
The Navy has deferred the responsibility of mine-hunting to a trio of Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), commonly referred to as “little crappy ships.” Three littoral combat ships, the USS Santa Barbara, the USS Canberra, and the USS Tulsa, are operating near the strait.
The LCSs were constructed for coastal support and combat, but proved neither dependable enough nor strong enough for that mission, lacking adequate firepower. They were also slated for retirement before the war began, Task and Purpose reported in February.
It remains to be seen if the LCSs are capable of countering Iran’s mine operation. The two ship classes are constructed entirely differently: the newer ones feature a metal hull, while the older ships were built with fiberglass-coated wooden hulls to reduce vulnerability. And two of the three LCSs were fitted with operational mine countermeasure packages just last year “after more than a decade of fits, starts, and failed systems,” reported USNI News.
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