The Pentagon is focusing on Iranian mine-laying vessels that have helped Tehran tighten control over the Strait of Hormuz, military leaders said, as the waterway’s effective closure squeezes global oil markets.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters the U.S. has destroyed 44 Iranian mine-laying vessels to blunt Tehran’s ability to deploy mines that threaten commercial shipping. Many commercial vessels have largely avoided the strait, which in normal times carries about 20% of the world’s oil trade.
Air Force A-10 Warthog attack jets have been brought into the operation to hunt fast boats that could be used to lay mines, Caine said. The A-10, a long-serving close air support aircraft, is known for its 30mm GAU-8 rotary cannon and ability to engage small surface threats.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. military could escort commercial convoys through the strait if needed, and that the military could manage the challenge without European allies. Military officials caution, however, that escort missions cannot begin until the mine threat is addressed.
Two of the Navy’s three counter-mine-capable warships typically based in the Middle East — USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, both equipped with counter-mine systems and autonomous platforms — were in Singapore for scheduled maintenance, a Navy spokesperson said. The Pentagon has not publicly disclosed the location of the third vessel, USS Canberra. The U.S. no longer has any ships dedicated exclusively to mine hunting; four such vessels were decommissioned in September.
CENTCOM has publicized strikes intended to blunt Iran’s ability to threaten shipping, including recent attacks using bunker-busting munitions along Iran’s coastline where anti-ship missiles could be launched. Retired Adm. James Foggo, who commanded the U.S. Sixth Fleet, warned that mines are a low-cost, easily deployed “asymmetric weapon” and that almost any vessel could function as a minelayer, including small boats or vessels that appear civilian.
Foggo and other experts said demining the strait is feasible but complex: mine-clearing capabilities must be deployed and protected, and any operation would first need to suppress Iran’s other means of attack. Marines deploying to the region could also conduct short ground raids against coastal missile and drone depots that threaten U.S. and commercial vessels.
Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, saying Japan was “really stepping up to the plate,” though Takaichi later said Japan’s legal constraints limit some actions and did not commit to military assistance. European leaders have signaled reluctance to involve their militaries amid active hostilities between the U.S., Iran and Israel, saying they did not start the war.
U.S. officials say they are reviewing a range of options to establish the military conditions for safe transit if ordered to escort shipping, while continuing strikes and patrols aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to mine and otherwise threaten vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
ABC News’ Steven Beynon, Isabella Murray and Emily Chang contributed to this report.