US Navy claims, Iran denies passing through Hormuz
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admin
- April 11, 2026
- 5
Two US Navy guided-missile destroyers have transited the Strait of Hormuz in the opening phase of an American operation to clear Iranian mines from the critical waterway, US Central Command announced Saturday. The USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy passed through the strait as part of what CENTCOM described as a broader mission to remove mines laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Admiral Brad Cooper, the CENTCOM commander, said the US military had begun establishing a new passage through the strait and would share the safe route with the maritime industry to facilitate the free flow of commerce. Additional forces, including underwater drones, may join the effort in the coming days. Al Jazeera quoting Iran's IRIB broadcaster however denied any US vessel crossed the Strait of Hormuz. This followed claims by US President Donald Trump that the US was working to clear the mines Trump announced the operation on his Truth Social platform, framing it as a favour to nations such as China, Japan and France that relied on the waterway but lacked the will to act themselves. He also claimed that all 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels had been sunk, and maintained that Iran was faring poorly in the conflict. The strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world's crude oil passes, has been effectively closed since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on 28 February. The disruption has rattled global energy markets and pushed up fuel prices in several countries. The mine-clearing operation comes alongside a fragile ceasefire and the opening of face-to-face US-Iran negotiations in Islamabad Saturday, hosted by Pakistan, in a bid to end the wider conflict. .
