Iran recently added more naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
On the 23rd, Axios, a U.S. online outlet, reported citing officials that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz this week. It is the second time Iran has laid mines since the war began.
The U.S. military detected and tracked the move and briefed U.S. President Donald Trump.
Afterward, Trump said on the social media platform Truth Social that he had "ordered the immediate sinking by firing on any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "There will be no hesitation."
The United States assessed that it destroyed more than 90% of Iran's large mine-laying ships and mine storage facilities during the initial airstrikes, but it is believed that stockpiles of mines remain along the coast. Iran is estimated to have laid fewer than 100 mines in the first deployment after the war.
The U.S. military is said to have identified the scale of the additional mines Iran placed, but it did not release specific numbers. It is also operating underwater drones in the Strait of Hormuz to clear mines and has deployed mine countermeasure ships.