U.S President Donald Trump has said mines blocking international waters in the Strait of Hormuz have been removed or destroyed, while warning Iran that any attempt to lay new mines will trigger an immediate US response.
Trump made the statement on Tuesday in a post on Truth Social, saying Washington had informed Iran that any vessel involved in placing new mines in the strategic waterway would be destroyed.
He also claimed that the US Space Force was monitoring the strait closely, saying American forces were watching “every square inch” of the maritime route.
“There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect,” Trump said.
The warning comes as tensions remain high between Washington and Tehran despite a pause in direct air strikes between the two countries.
Fighting has reduced in some areas, but vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz continue to face threats as both sides seek to influence control of the narrow passage.
The strait remains critical to global energy markets because a significant share of the world’s oil supply normally passes through it.
Provisional figures from vessel-tracking company Vortexa showed that oil shipments through Hormuz stood at about five million barrels per day on Monday.
That represents a sharp decline from the more than 20 million barrels transported through the waterway each day before the war, when roughly one in every five barrels of oil consumed globally passed through the strait.
The latest US warning raises the stakes around efforts to restore normal shipping through the waterway. Any renewed mining activity could further disrupt oil supplies, increase shipping risks and put additional pressure on already unsettled global energy markets.
With Washington declaring a zero-tolerance policy on new mines, the Strait of Hormuz is likely to remain one of the most closely watched flashpoints in the continuing confrontation between the US and Iran.
