U.S. Central Command confirmed Thursday that American forces have cleared Iranian sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz’s internationally recognized shipping lanes, opening the critical waterway to growing commercial traffic while a U.S. naval blockade has stopped Iranian oil exports entirely since mid-July — a dramatic shift President Donald Trump says has left Tehran “begging to make a deal.” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper called the breakthrough a “major milestone,” providing the military’s most detailed confirmation yet of a months-long operation that has dismantled one of Tehran’s principal sources of leverage: its ability to threaten international shipping through Hormuz while claiming control over the strategic waterway.
“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,” Cooper said in a Thursday evening operational update. “Internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait are free of Iranian sea mines thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. military.”
