CENTCOM Announces Destruction of 16 Iranian Mine-Laying Naval Vessels Near Strait of Hormuz
US Central Command said American forces destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying naval vessels near the Strait of Hormuz amid concerns Tehran was preparing to deploy mines in the strategic waterway.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The United States Central Command announced that American forces destroyed 16 Iranian naval vessels designed for laying mines during military operations conducted near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions surrounding one of the world’s most critical maritime routes.
On Tuesday, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) announced the destruction of 16 vessels belonging to the naval forces of Iran that were designated for mine-laying operations.
The announcement was published in an official statement on the platform X, where CENTCOM stated:
“U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.”
In a separate post published earlier, the command said:
“U.S. forces are degrading the Iranian regime's ability to project power at sea and harass international shipping. For years, Iranian forces have threatened freedom of navigation in waters essential to American, regional and global security and prosperity.”
According to a report by Axios citing a US official, the US military destroyed 16 Iranian naval vessels used for laying mines amid concerns that Iran was preparing to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
The report noted that the strike on the inactive ships was a preemptive measure based on intelligence regarding Iran’s operational plans.
A senior US official told Axios that the deployment of mines by Iran would create an extreme threat to commercial shipping in the region and could prevent oil shipments from passing through the strait.
Approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strategic waterway.
The development comes after warnings issued by Donald Trump, who said in a post on Truth Social that Iran would face military consequences “at a level never seen before” if it placed mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction,” Trump wrote, while clarifying that the United States had no confirmed reports that mines had been placed in the waterway.
“Additionally, we are using the same Technology and Missile capabilities deployed against Drug Traffickers to permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait. They will be dealt with quickly and violently,” he added.
In a separate post, Trump said that ten vessels had been destroyed in a strike “with more to follow,” while the United States Central Command later confirmed that 16 vessels had been eliminated.
Zooming out, CNN reported on Tuesday that Iran had begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, though the activity was not extensive.
“We thought the Iranians were planning to start laying the mines, so we took out many of the ships,” the US official told Axios.
The operation highlights growing security concerns around the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime passage that plays a central role in global energy shipments.