Iran unable to locate and remove all mines it placed in Hormuz — report

Iran cannot reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping because it’s unable to find and remove all the mines it placed in the waterway throughout the war, US officials tell The New York Times.

US officials say that apparent safe routes through the mines provided by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are limited due to Tehran’s careless mining of the strait.

The report notes that both the US and Iran lack the capabilities to remove nautical mines. Some mines, according to the report, are also able to drift, while it is unclear whether Iran documented each mine it placed in the waterway.

The US has claimed that the strait was opened up already on Wednesday, denying reports that Iran was holding up much of the traffic and charging a toll. Over the past few days, Trump appeared to acknowledge that Iran was in fact blocking ships from using the channel, with the president issuing a series of Truth Social posts threatening Iran.

Tehran has pledged to continue blocking traffic until Israel stops striking its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, which Iran and Pakistani mediators say was supposed to be part of the ceasefire. The US has said there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” on that issue, while insisting that it never agreed to include Lebanon in the truce.

Jacob Magid contributed to this report.