The Pentagon is concentrating strikes and patrols on Iranian mine-laying vessels that have helped Tehran restrict traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. military leaders said, tightening pressure on global oil shipments.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. forces have destroyed 44 Iranian vessels used or suspected of being used to lay mines, aiming to blunt Tehran’s ability to place explosives that threaten commercial shipping. Much commercial traffic has been avoiding the strait, which normally handles about 20 percent of the world’s oil trade.
Air Force A-10 attack jets have been assigned to hunt small, fast boats that could carry or deploy mines, Caine added. The A-10, a close air support aircraft noted for its 30mm cannon and durability, has been repurposed for engaging small surface threats in the area.
President Donald Trump said the U.S. military could escort commercial convoys if necessary and suggested the mission could be handled without European military partners. U.S. officials cautioned that escort operations cannot begin until the mine threat is sufficiently reduced and mine-clearance assets are in place.
Two of the Navy’s three counter-mine-capable ships normally in the region, USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara, 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 Navy has also retired four ships that were dedicated exclusively to mine hunting, reducing its organic mine-hunting inventory.
CENTCOM has cited strikes intended to blunt Iranian capabilities to threaten shipping, including use of bunker-busting munitions along coastal sites where anti-ship missiles could be launched. Retired Adm. James Foggo, a former Sixth Fleet commander, warned that naval mines are a low-cost, easily deployed asymmetric weapon, and almost any vessel—from small boats to ships that look civilian—can function as a minelayer.
Experts say clearing the strait of mines is possible but complicated: mine-countermeasure assets must be deployed and protected, and other Iranian threats must be suppressed beforehand. Marines moving into the region could also be tasked with short coastal raids to disrupt missile and drone depots that endanger U.S. and commercial vessels.
Diplomatically, Trump met with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, saying Japan was contributing more, though Takaichi noted legal limits on Japan’s military actions and did not pledge direct military assistance. European leaders have indicated reluctance to commit their militaries while hostilities involving the U.S., Iran and Israel are active.
U.S. officials are reviewing options to create the military conditions for safe transit if ordered to provide escorts, while continuing strikes and patrols aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to mine and otherwise threaten traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. ABC News reporters Steven Beynon, Isabella Murray and Emily Chang contributed to reporting on this story.