The U.S. military “eliminated” 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement, as President Donald Trump warned that any mines laid in the Strait by Iran must be removed immediately.
Trump previously said the U.S. had “completely destroyed” 10 inactive mine-laying vessels.
In apparent response to media reports that Iran had begun laying mines in the waterway, a key passage for oil shipments, Trump posted on Truth Social: “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!”
He said that if Tehran did not do so it would face military consequences, without providing details.
Trump also said the U.S. was using the same technology deployed against drug traffickers to “permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait.”
In recent months, the U.S. has carried out a series of strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that it alleges were carrying drugs, killing dozens of people.
The Pentagon said earlier on Tuesday that it was striking Iranian mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities.
The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has already effectively halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, along Iran’s coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.
