The American army said on Saturday, April 11th, that two of its destroyers had crossed the Strait of Hormuz to begin “setting the conditions” for demining the strategically important maritime route controlled by Iran, amid ongoing talks with Tehran. The two ships operated as part of “a broader mission to ensure that the strait is completely cleared of marine mines previously laid by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards,” according to a statement by Centcom on X.
The announcement comes at the start of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, where the issue of traffic in the strait will be important. Navigation remains hindered in this strategic maritime route for oil and global trade, almost blocked by Iran since the beginning of the war, as its reopening was a condition of the ceasefire. “Today we have started the process to establish a new passage, and we will soon share this safe passage with the maritime industry to encourage free flow of commerce,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of Centcom, in the statement. He added that additional American forces, including underwater drones, will join the demining efforts in the coming days. A few hours earlier on his Truth Social platform, Donald Trump stated that the United States had begun “the process of blocking the Strait of Hormuz.”
An operation described as a “favor to countries around the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” was written by the American president. “Incredibly, they do not have the courage or the will to do the job themselves,” he insisted.
According to Axios, citing an American official, the crossing of the strait by American ships is intended to instill confidence in commercial vessels to also pass through the strait. However, a senior Iranian military official, cited by state television, denied reports of American ships crossing the strait.
In his message on Truth Social, Donald Trump also criticized the media for claiming that Iran is winning the war against the United States, “when in reality, everyone knows they are losing, and losing big.” He acknowledged that “the only thing in their favor is the threat of a ship possibly ‘hitting’ one of their naval mines” in the Strait of Hormuz, while claiming that “all of their 28 mine-laying ships are lying at the bottom of the sea” due to American strikes. Without providing details, the American president also stated that “empty oil tankers from many countries are all heading to the United States of America to LOAD UP on oil.”
