The US military says it has attacked and destroyed 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait of Hormuz amid reports Iran has begun laying explosive devices in the strategically vital waterway. About a fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said this week it would not allow even 'one litre of oil' to leave the region if US-Israeli attacks continued. On Tuesday, Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that 'if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!' Less than two hours later, the US military released unclassified footage of its attacks on mine-laying vessels

Source: The Guardian March 11, 2026 11:49 UTC