Strait of Hormuz Map: Which Areas Have Been Cleared of Mines and Is Shipping Safe?
Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Central Command, said Thursday that American forces have cleared Iranian sea mines from the internationally recognized shipping lanes of the Strait of Hormuz, restoring free transit through one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. “Today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building,” Cooper said in a video statement.
The announcement caps nearly six months of disruption in the strait, which carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply. Iran effectively shut down the waterway after the U.S. and Israel launched an air campaign against it on Feb. 28, with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps laying mines, attacking merchant vessels and warning ships against passage.
President Donald Trump first claimed Tuesday on Truth Social that the Navy had informed him all mines had been removed or detonated, adding that any vessel laying new mines would be “immediately and systematically destroyed.” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected the claim the same week, saying the strait remains closed despite a separate, temporary transit arrangement negotiated with Oman.
How the Mines Were Cleared
Cooper said U.S. Navy divers, Navy SEALs and aircraft from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps worked over several months to locate and destroy mines within the strait’s traffic separation scheme, the designated shipping corridor used by commercial vessels. He described the operation as having been carried out “meticulously and quietly,” calling the conditions “challenging and dangerous.”
Since the U.S. resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports in mid-July, American forces have helped nearly 1,500 commercial vessels transit the strait, carrying close to 750 million barrels of crude oil, according to Cooper. He said U.S. forces have also turned back roughly 75 vessels attempting to breach the blockade and disabled three that did not comply with orders.
Iran Disputes the US Claim
Iranian officials have pushed back on Washington’s account. Gharibabadi said this week that the strait has not reopened and dismissed Trump’s assertion that all mines had been cleared. Germany’s navy, citing U.S. and British naval intelligence, reported in June that mines had been detected at four locations around the strait, though their exact positions could not be verified at the time.
Traffic Still Far Below Pre-War Levels
Despite the U.S. announcement, shipping through the strait remains a fraction of what it was before the conflict. Roughly 130 to 140 ships passed through daily before Feb. 28; that number has fallen to a handful on many days since. Kpler data cited by Reuters showed 10 commodity vessels transited Wednesday, compared with a 10-day average of about 15.
What Analysts Are Watching
Analysts say the U.S. assessment that the main shipping lanes are mine-free is likely credible, but caution that “mine clearance alone is unlikely to make shipping ‘safe'” in the strait. A small number of drifting or uncharted mines could remain outside the monitored lanes, and Iran retains the capacity to lay more. Other threats, including drones and missiles, have also targeted vessels during the conflict, meaning full normalization of traffic is likely to take longer than the mine-clearing operation itself.
