Strait of Hormuz Faces Persistent Threats Despite US Claims of Complete Mine Clearance

Crude oil tankers, bulk carriers and vessels sit anchored around Qaboos Port on June 22, 2026 in Muscat, Oman. US President Donald Trump has claimed that the US Navy has removed or detonated all sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway in the Gulf which Iran effectively closed after the US and Israel first launched attacks on the country nearly six months ago.

“Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed,” Trump declared in a post on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. But on Wednesday, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait remains closed, despite a temporary transit-route agreement with Oman, while he dismissed Trump’s claim that all mines had been cleared.

“No one except Iran knows the location of these mines,” Gharibabadi said, dismissing Trump’s comments as “only aimed at calming the markets” and warning that US mine-detection vessels entering the area would become “very good targets”.

Meanwhile, in addition to agreeing on a new transit route for ships crossing through the strait, Iran and Oman have agreed to implement a joint project to clear mines from the strait, according to a statement from the two countries this week. Before the war began, approximately 130 ships passed through the strait each day, transporting about one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supplies from Gulf producers. Analysts say the US assessment that mines have been cleared from key shipping lanes is likely credible, but that does not mean Hormuz is necessarily completely mine-free or that commercial shipping can safely return to pre-war levels.

A small number of “drifting” or uncharted mines could remain outside the heavily monitored shipping lanes, while Iran retains the ability to lay more. Experts also cautioned that mines are only one aspect of the threat facing vessels needing to pass through the strait. With no ceasefire agreement in place and the US announcing what it has described as an “economic D-Day” of sanctions against Iran, the prospect of renewed open warfare remains, carrying a major cost.

According to a report published by S&P Global in July, since the war began, war-risk insurance costs for ships traversing the waterway have soared from between 1 and 3 percent of a ship’s hull value to between 7.5 and 10 percent of hull value, leaving many shipping companies reluctant to resume transiting the Strait of Hormuz.