Iran begins mining Strait of Hormuz as Washington's tanker escort claim collapses

[SamuelTheThird]

ran has begun deploying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, according to US intelligence, a dangerous escalation that threatens to deepen the blockade of the world's most vital energy corridor just as Washington's credibility on reopening it took a significant hit on Tuesday.

Small Iranian craft capable of carrying two to three mines each have been detected moving into the waterway, CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs wrote on X, citing reporting by Jim LaPorta.

While Iran's total mine stockpile is not publicly known, estimates over the years have ranged from roughly 2,000 to 6,000 naval mines of Iranian, Chinese, and Russian-made variants.

The intelligence emerged on a day when a bold claim by US Energy Secretary Chris Wright about the Navy escorting a tanker through the strait fell apart in public view.

https://www.turkiyetoday.com/region/iran-begins-mining-strait-of-hormuz-as-washingtons-tanker-escort-claim-collapses-3216004

[marble falls]

1. Three US carrier groups on station - those mines will be cleared in a jiffy. By satellite, they know anywhere ...

... the mining was done.

[SamuelTheThird]

2. Mines can be deployed by drones

All of you people so confident things will be countered handily have already been demonstrated to be wrong

[marble falls]

6. If I hadn't been USN, I might think the same way. Any drone big enough to plant a naval mine is on radar, ...

... and US spy satellites can count the dimples on a golf ball and can read license plates and can be positioned to look in your windows.

Believe or not, the USN has been dealing with mines for over 100 years.

[SamuelTheThird]

7. That doesn't matter

If a mine can be deployed a little ways before a ship, that is something commercial vessels are not going to want to deal with. They could even drop mines from land and let the currents take them.

[marble falls]

9. You watch too much TV. When was the last time a Navy ship hit a mine, let alone sunk by one? When was the last time ...

... mines or missiles, has a US Navy ship been sunk?

https://news.usni.org/2012/08/28/notable-us-navy-ships-lost-world-war-ii

The Israelis couldn't even sink an unarmed USS Liberty after a day of sustained attack.

Do you really believe the US Navy doesn't know the seas or seamanship? Arguably the only White Water Navy on the planet????

[SamuelTheThird]

10. Where did I say anything about sinking a navy ship?

I was talking about risk and commercial vessels and the willingness to traverse mines (and drones).

The navy isn't even accompanying vessels yet, it was promised they already were, but nope.

[marble falls]

12. Do you think there will be travel by commercial ships without USN coverage ...

... here, inform your opinion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_mine

Notice how large a mine needs to be. Note that the lightest mines being used are over 160#s of high explosive, not the sort of thing a guy drags drags into the shallows and hopes a current grabs it. The only thing you need fear is unfounded fear.

The Navy will clear and patrol lanes whether there's an escorting or not. The USN KNOWS how to deal with mines.

A carrier strike group is a type of carrier battle group of the United States Navy. It is an operational formation composed of roughly 7,500 personnel, usually an aircraft carrier, at least one cruiser, a destroyer squadron of at least two destroyers or frigates, and a carrier air wing of 65 to 70 aircraft. A carrier strike group, on occasion, also includes submarines, attached logistics ships and a supply ship. The carrier strike group commander operationally reports to the commander of the numbered fleet, who is operationally responsible for the area of waters in which the carrier strike group is operating. There are three of these. Hormuz will belong to the US Navy. There is NO Naval force on the planet that can keep this from happening. This force has more carriers than the the next two naval powers - Russian and China - together. This represents only about a quarter of the USN's big ship forces.

What is the largest air force on the planet? US Air Force. What's the second largest? the US Navy. The US Navy has 11 active duty nuclear carriers. plus some in reserve and a bunch old fashioned diesel carriers the Marines use as assault carriers. Really, mines mean nothing. If the Navy is patrolling, civilian ships are safe.

[SamuelTheThird]

14. lol

All this military rah rah shit isn't going to matter much if an economic earthquake hits. Mines aren't cleared in a day, and the world is already straining (they are already rationing in Asia). You can put all the navy ships you want, but if drones are still threatening most commercial ships are not going to want to go through. This isn't a military conflict. It's an ECONOMIC military conflic, and the Iranians understand this perfectly. There's all sorts of knock on effects ready to hit that most aren't even considering.

Ask yourself WHY isn't the navy accompanying ships already, hmmm?

[marble falls]

15. And making personal slurs in the face of facts and truth doen't do a thing for any discussion. ...

... I leave you to your fears and concerns. Have a nice day.

We spend short of a trillion dollars a year on defense, more than the next seven nations combine.

Name one commercial freight carrier hit by a drone or mine. Iran learned a terrible lesson a couple of years back by crowding Navy ships. In less than an fifteen minutes the Navy sunk more than half the Iranian navy, taking not a lick of damage or any casualty.

U.S. STRIKES 2 IRANIAN OIL RIGS AND HITS 6 WARSHIPS IN BATTLES OVER MINING SEA LANES IN GULF

https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/19/world/us-strikes-2-iranian-oil-rigs-hits-6-warships-battles-over-mining-sea-lanes-gulf.html



https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/the-us-navy-unloaded-on-the-iranians-in-the-most-explosive-surface-fight-since-wwii/
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-19-mn-1394-story.html

Because the Navy can keep the straights of Hormuz open, you bet your ass - rah, rah rah.

At the same time: screw President Shitferbrains for needlessly putting sailor's lives at risk and and causing this threat to international shipping.

Curiously: do you know the value of the trade that goes through Hormuz?


No, you don't, but let me help you inform yourself: https://facts.net/science/geography/25-facts-about-the-strait-of-hormuz/

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=65504

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in 2011, an average of 14 tankers per day passed out of the Persian Gulf through the strait carrying 17 million barrels (2,700,000 m3) of crude oil. More than 85% of these crude oil exports went to Asian markets on a daily basis, with Japan, India, South Korea and China the largest destinations.[14] In 2018, 21 million barrels a day passed through the strait, worth $1.2 billion at 2019 prices.[19]

This is why the US Navy takes Iranian threats seriously:

As of 2019, the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that Iran possessed over 5,000 naval mines capable of rapid deployment via high-speed boats.[8] In June 2025, it was reported that U.S. intelligence detected, possibly through satellite imagery or human informants, that Iranian military forces loaded naval mines onto vessels in the Persian Gulf, an act which was interpreted as a preliminary step to blockading the strait.[8] The mines were ultimately not deployed, though their presence raised alarms in Washington about Tehran's intent to escalate the conflict. It is unclear whether the mines were later removed.[8]

I know you won't but read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strait_of_Hormuz

[SamuelTheThird]

16. Personal slurs?

What are you talking about. lol I didn't use a 'personal slur' by any stretch.

'Name one commercial freight carrier hit by a drone or mine.'

https://caspianpost.com/iran/iranian-drone-hits-oil-tanker-louise-p-in-persian-gulf

The strike marks the second reported attack on tankers in the region on March 7. Earlier in the day, Iranian forces reportedly hit another oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz after it ignored a warning issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

https://www.businessinsider.com/drone-boats-iran-fight-oman-says-one-hit-tanker-fatal-2026-3

Exploding drone boats have entered the Iran fight. Oman says one hit a tanker in a fatal blow.

I don't think you have a grasp on this

[marble falls]

17. This will end very quickly once the Navy is in place. This is one of the busiest trade routes, maybe the second ...

... busiest. Two tankers hit. Out of hundreds of freighters going both ways. You miss the forest for the trees. Give the Navy a chance to shut them down. Just like we shut down the Yemeni Houthi missiles on the other side.

This is what you're concerned with. The US has severely degraded oil production and shipment from Iran mainly to countries in Se Asia, particularly India. and now TACO wants to give Russian a window to sell oil to India. We are in an oil glut, Iran didn't need to be bombed and now we're easing sanctions to allow the Russians to trade oil in India. And you worry about fucking mines and missiles.

Done. So done with this.

[SamuelTheThird]

18. 'Out of hundreds of freighters going both ways'

You only need to hit a few to bring traffic to a slow crawl. Which...is exactly what happened.

'Just like we shut down the Yemeni Houthi missiles on the other side.'

We didn't 'shut down' the missiles. There was a peace agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Navy is already 'in place' And traffic is still a trickle. They aren't accompanying commercial vessels, they said it's too dangerous . Read some news lol

[sarisataka]

3. We'll just tie powerful magnets

To long lines behind the aircraft. Shouldn't take more than an afternoon...

[Brother Buzz]

4. But, but, the marmalade shartcannon told us

magnets don’t work in water

"Give me a glass of water, let me drop it on the magnets, that's the end of the magnets," - Donald J Trump

[sarisataka]

5. Damn, I forgot that

And he is a scienk geenus

[Johonny]

8. So the war is pretty much completely over

But also escalating.

Could be a few more days, months, years . . . Just so long as we don't get more wind mills due to this we should all be safe.

[Takket]

11. Pardon my ignorance

But after months of watching Kegseth blow up fishing boats, why are we not shooting down anything larger than a sparrow flying anywhere near Hormuz?

[marble falls]

13. They haven't grifted enough from panic induced oil futures. Give it a week of two after the market gets a grip ...

... and the crisis investors have sucked up enough profits.

[Melon]

20. We are. Posted link below. 16 more vessels sunk Tuesday. It's a turkey shoot.

[Melon]

19. On Tuesday the US Navy destroyed 16 Iranian vessels capable of laying mines.

The navy is watching for this. Iran is quickly losing anything that floats. We have a mine sweeper, USS Canberra, in the area plus they deploy varies mine sensors and measures..


https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/us-israel-iran-war-2026?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqeznNmHKvJt7uWqsz5LdtKCDR7VFDQ18GqS96u6UtHaPSDpIHayVxHvL-um6QQ%3D&gaa_ts=69b0fbd9&gaa_sig=jazsbZJKsP5LBiKrQQzdr4Pr1oncGiMGSa7WvXO9l_qlFIyxfjFce6k7IGNNfqNcDCULKcRoeiJmDuAd8qK3nA%3D%3D

[SamuelTheThird]

21. Assuming that is true

They have 1000s of small boats that can deliver mines. Drones can deliver mines. You can deliver mines from the land as well. And the danger to ships directly from drones is not going away without using a huge number of ground troops.

[Melon]

22. Naval vessels including the little speedboats was a couple hundred at the start. Not 1000's.

All the larger vessels are sunk and one held by Sri Lanka.
Every day they are getting weaker. Going by the regional history, even ground troops may not stomp out everything small like drones or rockets. But…what damage are they really doing? Iran is real ineffectual. They’ve killed 7 Americans. They’ve killed 1 Israeli. When was the last time a mine sank a ship? Our sensors and mine sweepers are in the area. There is a reason why you don’t hear about mines a lot for the last 40 years.

Edit. Correction. 11 Israeli killed.

[SamuelTheThird]

23. A mine doesn't need to 'sink' a ship to cause complete economic havoc

Some of you are really not getting this. Just wait and see over the coming weeks.

[Melon]

25. Well.....let's see what happens. There are hundreds and hundreds of ships just waiting or anchored

There are 10’s of thousands of US troops. I have low confidence in the Iranians to do to much. They simply haven’t. If they truly had Mach 14 weapons that can change directions and we can’t touch, why haven’t they shot our carrier with one? We have ships all through the Straight, why haven’t they touched one?

[SamuelTheThird]

32. They won't do much?

They're about to cause a global recession by choking the Strait. lol

They just hit another cargo ship, crew evacuated...

[yaesu]

28. Iran has a large fleet of miniature 7man subs that have both torpedo and mine laying capabilities. I wonder if those are

Part of the 16 mentioned. If not there may be a surprise coming to the oll tankers

[RedWhiteBlueIsRacist]

24. Trump and his sordid crew have been blowing up boats for months now. Surely they don't begrudge Iran to do the same!

[RockRaven]

26. One of many reasons not to elect a narcissistic psychopath is that they might

think they can start a war and be in sole control of when said war ends, because they are fundamentally incapable of understanding other people's thoughts/motives/agency/will/etc. The whole world is just NPCs to such people, they are fucked in the head.

[WarGamer]

27. And then there's this... US destroys mine laying vessels

https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/us-destroys-iranian-minelayers-after-tehran-threatens-to-block-oil-exports-2880168-2026-03-11

The US said it took out more than a dozen mine-laying Iranian vessels Tuesday, and the Islamic Republic vowed to block the region’s oil exports, saying it would not allow “even a single litre” to be shipped to its enemies.

As concerns grew about the war’s effect on a strategic waterway, the American military said it destroyed 16 minelayers, though President Donald Trump said in social media posts that there were no reports of Iran planting explosives in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is shipped.

[SamuelTheThird]

29. Problem solved!

We will see full traffic through the strait of hormuz later in the week!

lol They have hundreds of small boats to lay mines, and they have other ways of laying mines, and they have drones to attack ships- the latter being why the vaunted US Navy is saying it's too dangerous to chaperone commercial vessels now.

[WarGamer]

30. I guess we'll find out soon

[SamuelTheThird]

31. well after billions and billions spent they just hit another ship