TEHRAN (VINnews) – U.S. Navy SEAL divers spent four months carrying out a covert operation to locate and destroy suspected Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, mostly under cover of darkness, the Financial Times reported Sunday.
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The operation involved SEAL divers working in small teams from inflatable-hulled boats, along with robotic vessels and underwater vehicles equipped with high-resolution sonar. The unmanned systems were used to scan the seabed and identify possible mines before divers or underwater robots moved in to destroy them.
The FT reported that the mission was conducted as the United States and Iran exchanged strikes around the strategic waterway. The goal was to remove mines that had become a major deterrent to commercial shipping through the strait.
Iran has claimed throughout the conflict that it laid mines in international and Omani waters. The International Maritime Organization said in June that about 80 mines had been placed in vital shipping lanes, according to the FT.
The operation was particularly dangerous because mine-clearing normally involves specialized ships repeatedly sweeping shipping lanes. In this case, the U.S. Navy’s three Gulf-based mine-countermeasure ships had reportedly been outside the region, leaving SEAL teams and unmanned systems to carry out much of the work.
The most dangerous stage came after a mine was located. According to the FT, a Navy diver could enter the water, approach the device and attach an explosive charge to destroy it. Robotic underwater systems could also be used to place explosives.
No U.S. casualties have been reported specifically from the mine-clearing operation. Shipowners and maritime security advisers told the FT they were optimistic that the southern portion of the strait, near the coast of Oman, had been cleared, but remained doubtful that the entire waterway was free of mines.
President Donald Trump said last week that all mines in the strait’s international waters had been removed or detonated, a claim confirmed by the U.S. military. The U.S.-directed Joint Maritime Information Center, however, warned of a continuing risk from drifting or uncharted mines.
Commercial shipping through the strait remains limited. The FT reported that the threat of mines, even where their presence cannot be confirmed, has contributed to higher insurance costs, with some coverage reaching about 10 times prewar levels.
Iran has rejected U.S. claims about the mine-clearing operation. Maritime authorities have not confirmed recent Iranian claims that ships were struck by mines, and the FT reported that the only confirmed mine sighting in the strait since the conflict began was made by a Pakistani hydrographer in May.
The amazing part of this is that the Iranian’s pkacing mines in international waters should have united the rest of the world in destroying this regime.
the us navy’s mine clearing ships, the new littoral combat ships, are homeported in bahrain. they were moved out of the region just when they were needed most. that’s a great big vote of confidence in their capability.
The mine-clearing operation described here highlights the critical role of specialized skills and technology in maintaining global commerce. Such efforts ensure shipping lanes remain open. This protects the flow of goods and resources that many communities rely on.