Iran lays mines in Hormuz for the second time since war began: Report

Iran has once again laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz, marking the second such instance since the West Asia war began on February 28, news organisation Axios reported on Friday, citing an unnamed United States (US) official and another source.

The mining operation is understood to have been carried out by the naval arm of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which continues to retain a significant number of small attack craft and mine-laying capabilities, even as much of the country’s larger conventional naval fleet was destroyed during the conflict. The move comes at a time when the war has disrupted shipping in what is widely regarded as the world’s most critical oil chokepoint, with Iran targeting commercial vessels and the US maintaining a naval blockade in the area.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the US Navy to “shoot and kill” any Iranian boats engaged in laying mines with “no hesitation”. This development came after he was briefed on the latest developments, the report said. It added, citing sources, that the US military had detected the Iranian operation and was closely monitoring it. The official cited earlier stated that the US was aware of the number of new mines Iran had deployed. The report further said, citing another group of American officials, that the US Navy was using underwater drones for mine-clearing operations in the strait. Again on Thursday, Trump ordered these efforts “to continue, but at a tripled-up level”.

The deployment of additional mines in the strait could further intensify the war’s impact on the global economy, with the International Energy Agency already attributing the largest oil supply disruption in the history of the global market to the conflict in West Asia.

Prior to the outbreak of hostilities, as much as 20 per cent of the world’s seaborne oil transited the strait. Since then, traffic has dropped to single digits on most days — a sharp decline from the more than 100 ships that previously passed through it daily.

In a sign that the naval blockade on Iran was being further reinforced, a third US aircraft carrier — the USS George H W Bush —entered the region on Thursday.