Trump Claims US Navy Controls Strait of Hormuz, Clears Iranian Mines

President Donald Trump has declared that the United States Navy holds 100 per cent control over the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway at the centre of a dispute with Iran. Trump also claimed that US forces have swept the entire strait to clear Iranian mines.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the strait is now open. “Listen, the only party in control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy,” the president stated. “We are imposing a very tough blockade. This blockade is like a wall of steel,” he added, emphasising that it only targets ships entering and leaving Iranian ports.

Trump further stated that US Navy forces have swept Iranian mines throughout the Strait of Hormuz, asserting that Tehran’s efforts to lay mines have not affected Washington’s control. “It is now open for other parties. The situation is a bit complicated because they will, every once in a while, drop a mine, and we will find it,” he said. “We have swept mines throughout the entire strait, as you may have heard. Maybe you haven’t heard it, but we control that strait 100 per cent.”

The series of claims was made against a backdrop of persistently high tensions between the US and Iran over the conditions for reopening the waterway, which is vital for global oil and gas supplies. Tehran has stressed it will not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its demands are met. Iran is demanding compensation for war damage and other concessions before it is willing to fully restore shipping activity through the strait.