US military starts removing mines from Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. military has launched operations to begin de-mining the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said on Saturday. 

Centcom said in a social media post highlighted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that two Navy guided-missile destroyers began “setting conditions” for this mission on Saturday morning. 

The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy have previously operated in the Arabian Gulf to help clear the strait of sea mines set by Tehran, according to Centcom. 

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” Centcom Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in the post. 

The strait is a critical trading corridor, particularly for global energy markets. About a fifth of the world’s oil consumption flows through the passage on a daily basis. 

The military operations between the U.S., Israel and Iran have made the journey through the strait perilous, as Tehran launched counterstrikes on U.S. targets and energy infrastructure in the Gulf region. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also laid mines along the waterway. 

These threats to vessels have effectively rendered the strait closed, resulting in a negative hit to crude oil markets. At the end of March, international standard Brent crude oil was trading as high as $118 per barrel, and the average price of a gallon of standard gas in the U.S. hit $4. 

After President Trump announced a temporary halt in fighting this week, ships began cautiously reentering the passage, providing temporary relief to the global economy. However, new Iranian tolls on oil-carrying vessels present a new challenge to energy markets. 

The news comes as Vice President Vance started face-to-face talks with Iranian officials in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Saturday afternoon — the first direct meeting between the two countries in decades. The ceasefire agreement is on shaky ground as both sides accuse the other of violating its terms. 

In a Saturday phone call with NewsNation, The Hill’s broadcast partner, the president said he had “no idea” how the talks would last.

“I’ll let you know that in a very short period of time. Won’t take long,” Trump told Kellie Meyer, when asked if he thought Tehran was acting in good faith. He also said the U.S. has the “sophisticated mine equipment in the world.”