President Donald Trump declared last week that the United States had removed or detonated all mines in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.Now, the commander of U.S.Central Command has offered the clearest public account yet of the high-stakes operation behind that declaration: a months-long effort in which U.S.
forces quietly cleared Iranian sea mines from established international shipping lanes used by commercial vessels.Other threats still stand between the cleared lanes and a return to normal activity in one of the world’s most important waterways.The latest maritime guidance still classifies the Strait at a "SEVERE" threat level.
Recent attacks have struck tankers near Oman, and oil flows remain far below prewar levels."We have successfully cleared sea mines in the Strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," CENTCOM commander Adm.Brad Cooper said in a video update.TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S NAVY ‘OBLITERATED’ AS US ENFORCES HORMUZ BLOCKADE — BUT KEY THREAT REMAINSThe Strait of Hormuz is 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, with shipping lanes that are two miles wide in each direction.
It is the only sea passage from many of the world's largest oil producers to the Indian Ocean.(AP Photo)"Internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait are free of Iranian sea mines thanks to the incredible work of the U.S.
military," Cooper said.Cooper identified the cleared area as the Strait’s Traffic Separation Scheme, the long-standing system of opposing lanes that guides commercial vessels through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman."Our forces meticulously and quietly cleared them of sea mine threats using a combination of Navy divers, Navy SEALs and U.S.air power from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps," Cooper said.The operation was carried out as the Navy was in the middle of a major transition in how it handles mine warfare.The service had retired its four Bah...