Khaberni - The "New York Times" stated that Iran was unable to open the Strait of Hormuz to navigation more broadly due to its inability to identify the locations of the mines it had planted in the waterway and its lack of necessary capabilities to remove them.
The newspaper quoted American officials as saying that this development is one of the reasons that prevented Tehran’s swift response to the demands of President Donald Trump's administration to allow more ships to pass through the strait. It also represents an additional complicating factor ahead of peace negotiations expected today, Saturday, in Pakistan between Iranian negotiators and an American delegation led by Vice President JD Vance.
The officials mentioned that Iran used small boats last month to plant mines in the Strait of Hormuz, shortly after the outbreak of the war waged by the United States and Israel against it. The planting of mines, along with the risk of Iranian attacks with drones and missiles, has significantly reduced the number of oil tankers and other ships passing through the strait, causing a surge in energy prices and giving Tehran an important leverage during the war.
Officials pointed out that Iran kept one of the paths open in the strait, allowing the passage of ships that pay fees.
Furthermore, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard issued warnings about the potential for ships to collide with sea mines, while semi-official media outlets published maps showing the available safe routes.
American officials stated that these routes remain very limited because Iran planted the mines randomly, adding that it is unclear whether the Iranian authorities have documented the locations of all the mines they deployed. Even in cases where their locations were recorded, some mines were planted in a manner that makes them prone to drifting or moving from their place.
They explained that removing sea mines, like land mines, is much more difficult than planting them.
The officials also noted that the U.S. military itself does not possess significant mine-clearing capabilities, primarily relying on littoral combat ships equipped with mine-sweeping capabilities. Meanwhile, Iran also lacks the ability to quickly remove mines, even those it planted itself.
President Donald Trump stated in a social media post on Tuesday that a two-week ceasefire in the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is conditional on the "complete, immediate, and safe" opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
In contrast, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Wednesday that the strait would be open to navigation considering technical restrictions. U.S. officials interpreted Araghchi's reference to "technical restrictions" as reflecting Iran’s inability to quickly locate or remove mines.
The meeting between the Iranian and American delegations is expected today, Saturday, in Islamabad, where it is likely that the issue of speeding up the secure passage through the strait will be one of the main topics of discussion.
The U.S. military sought to destroy Iran's naval capabilities by sinking ships and targeting naval bases, but Iran still retains hundreds of small boats that can be used to harass ships or plant new mines, while it has been shown that eliminating all these boats is not feasible in practice, according to the newspaper.
Even before Iran began planting mines, its leaders' threats had quickly disrupted global shipping movements and led to rising oil prices. On March 2, a senior Revolutionary Guard official announced the closure of the strait, threatening, according to official Iranian media, to burn ships if they entered the waterway.
In the days following that threat, Iran began to plant mines in the strait, despite the United States intensifying its strikes against Iranian naval assets. At that time, U.S. officials said Iran was not planting the mines quickly or efficiently.
The officials concluded by noting that the United States is still uncertain about the exact number of mines Iran had deployed in the strait or their locations, given the difficulty in tracking the small boats that undertook the planting.
