Trump says Hormuz Strait cleared of mines, warns against new mines

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that all mines in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz have been removed or detonated, warning that any vessel placing new mines would be destroyed.

"I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

"Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," Trump wrote.

"There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect." The US Space Force is "watching every square inch of the Strait," as well as Iran's Pickaxe Mountain and three other nuclear sites already destroyed by the United States, the president added.

Trump did not provide details on the mine-clearing operation or the number of mines removed or detonated.

Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body Iran established to control maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, announced on Sunday that vessels violating Iranian protocols for transiting the waterway will face restrictions on their future passages.

Trump's remarks came as Washington stepped up its economic pressure on Tehran while keeping the possibility of further military action on the table.

The situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains highly volatile, with maritime traffic still severely disrupted and the two sides locked in a standoff over control and security of the strategic waterway.

Hegseth says US not ruling out military force against Iran One day earlier, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Washington was not ruling out using military force against Iran, even as the Trump administration unveiled an economic sanction plan against Tehran.

Hegseth said, after a speech to defense industry workers in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, that economic pressure was currently causing pain to Iran, while stressing that Washington was "by no means" ruling out military strikes "anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran." He warned that the US would respond if Iran "overplays their hand or messes with the American military," and called on defense contractors to "pivot to a wartime footing." Hegseth also claimed that the US remained in control of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the blockade as "ironclad." He said Iran was unable to move oil through the strategic waterway, while the US retained the ability to safeguard commercial shipping.

Source: Iran conveys Hormuz conditions to US via Pakistan Iran has conveyed its stance and conditions regarding the Strait of Hormuz to Pakistan for possible delivery to the US, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday, citing a source close to the Iranian negotiating team.