Iran has been unable to safely reopen the Strait of Hormuz to increased shipping because it may not know the exact locations of all the sea mines it has deployed and lack the ability to completely clear them, US officials said, according to the New York Times.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned vessels of the risk of being hit by sea mines, while Iranian media published suggested safe routes. But those routes are said to be limited because the mines were laid in a haphazard manner, and it is not known whether Iran kept complete records of their locations, the officials said, adding that even where the locations were recorded, some mines may have shifted or drifted over time.
Iran reportedly deployed small mine-laying boats in the strait last month shortly after the United States and Israel launched military actions against it. The combination of these mines and the threat of Iranian drone and missile attacks have severely curtailed tanker and commercial shipping on the waterway, raising energy prices and giving Iran more leverage during the conflict.
Iran kept a limited corridor open through the strait, allowing ships to pass if they paid a fee or toll, the NYT report noted.
USA and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz
In a social media post on Tuesday about a temporary halt to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, President Donald Trump said the two-week ceasefire would depend on the “full, immediate and safe opening” of the Strait of Hormuz.
The following day, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the strait would remain open to shipping, but only “with due consideration of technical restrictions”. U.S. officials interpreted his reference to technical limitations as an acknowledgment that Iran cannot quickly locate or clear the sea mines it has deployed, the report said.
Talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad
A US delegation led by Vice President JD Vance has arrived in Pakistan for talks with Iranian officials to strengthen the fragile ceasefire and work towards a permanent solution to the conflict. It is the first meeting of its kind since the start of the war more than a month ago.
But the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire still faces challenges as talks begin on Saturday. Clashes between Israel and Hezbollah continue along Lebanon’s southern border, and Iran has set the stage for negotiations.
An Iranian delegation led by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf arrived in Islamabad early on Saturday. On X, he said the talks would only continue if Israel agreed to a cease-fire in Lebanon and released frozen Iranian assets.
A few hours earlier, Trump publicly wished Vance success in the negotiations. He said, “We’ll find out what’s going on. They’re defeated militarily.”
