US Claims Two Warships Clear Mines in Strait of Hormuz, Iran Furious
The United States (US) claims that two of its Navy warships have crossed the Strait of Hormuz to begin clearing mines planted by Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatens to act ‘harshly’ against military ships crossing the strategic waterway.
Cited by AFP on Sunday (12/4/2026), the announcement of the first transit since the US-Israel war with Iran began came shortly after US President Donald Trump stated that Washington has started ‘clearing’ the strait, through which one-fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.
“Today, we are beginning the process to build a new route, and we will soon share this safe route with the maritime industry to encourage free trade flows,” said the commander of US Central Command, Admiral Brad Cooper.
The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy are the guided-missile destroyers involved in the operation. However, CENTCOM stated that ‘additional US forces including underwater drones’ may join the effort in the coming days.
Iran immediately rejected Washington’s claim that US ships had entered the strait. Iran’s military spokesperson, Ebrahim Zolfaghari, said that permission to cross the strait is controlled by Iran.
“The initiative to allow any ship to pass is in the hands of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said on Iranian state television.
Iranian state television station IRIB later quoted the Revolutionary Guard Navy Command as saying that any attempt by military ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz would be dealt with firmly.
The strait route would only be ‘granted to civilian ships under certain conditions’.
Previously, Trump wrote on his social media that the United States had ‘begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz’.
He described it as ‘assistance’ to countries such as China, Japan, and France that lack the courage or willingness to do the job themselves.
Trump insisted that Iran has ‘SUFFERED GREATLY!’ in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iran’s mines in the strategic strait still pose a threat.
“The only thing they have left is the threat that a ship might ‘hit’ one of their sea mines,” Trump wrote.
The main shipping route off Iran’s coast has been practically blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February. Negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan have also failed.