US carried out covert four-month Hormuz mine-clearing mission - FT

The United States conducted a covert four-month operation to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, deploying Navy SEAL divers, robotic boats and specialized underwater craft mostly at night, the Financial Times reported.

Citing people familiar with the operation, the newspaper said small teams of divers used inflatable boats while unmanned surface vessels and submersibles equipped with high-resolution sonar searched for explosives on the seabed.

Divers then approached detected mines to attach charges and destroy them, while robotic submersibles could also be used for detonation. No US casualties were reported in connection with the operation.

The mission began after Iran said it had laid mines in international and Omani waters following the start of the US-Israeli strikes in February.

Shipping executives and security advisers told the FT they were confident the southern part of the strait near Oman - where US forces have been directing vessels - had been cleared, but remained doubtful that the entire waterway was free of mines.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on August 31 that a supertanker caught fire and stopped after striking two naval mines while attempting to use what Iran calls an unauthorized route south of Hormuz.

Maritime authorities have reported no confirmed mine strikes during the conflict, and analysts told the FT that satellite imagery showed no clear evidence supporting Iran’s accounts about laying mines an that the only confirmed mine sighting was reported by a Pakistani survey vessel in May.

The US has warned it will attack vessels attempting to deploy new mines. Washington also said it struck Iranian rocket launchers on August 30 as they prepared to fire mines into the strait.

The possibility of new mines, combined with Iran’s missile and drone attacks on shipping, means clearing the seabed alone may not be sufficient to restore commercial traffic, the report said, adding that shipowners must also decide whether the US-protected route near Oman is safe enough to justify returning to the strait.

https://www.iranintl.com/en/202609077298