The US military has hit and destroyed 10 inactive mine-laying vessels, President Donald Trump says, warning any mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran must be removed immediately.
"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!" Trump posted on Truth Social, in apparent response to media reports that Iran had begun laying mines in the strait.
He said that if Tehran did not do so it would face military consequences, without providing details.
"If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before. If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!" Trump wrote.
He said the US was using the same technology deployed against drug traffickers to "permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait", later adding the US had hit and destroyed 10 inactive mine-laying vessels.
The Pentagon said earlier on Tuesday, US time, that it was striking Iranian mine-laying vessels and mine storage facilities.
The US-Israel war against Iran has already effectively halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, along Iran's coast, where a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas normally passes.
The US navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz, saying the risk is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The navy's assessments spell continued disruption to Middle East oil exports and reflect a divergence from Trump's statements that the US is prepared to provide naval escorts whenever needed to restart regular shipments along the key waterway.
A senior official with Iran's Revolutionary Guards has said the Strait is closed and Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass, Iranian media reported last week. Several ships have already been hit.
The US navy has held regular briefings with shipping and oil industry counterparts and has said during those briefings it is unable to provide escorts for the time being, three shipping industry sources familiar with the matter said.
The sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the shipping industry has been making requests almost daily during the calls for naval escorts through the strait
Trump has said repeatedly in recent days the United States is prepared to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz when necessary.
The US military has started looking at options to potentially escort ships through the strait, should it be ordered to do so, General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Tuesday.
"We're looking at a range of options there," Caine told reporters at the Pentagon.
A US official told Reuters the military has not yet escorted any commercial ships through the strait.
Earlier on Tuesday, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright deleted a post on X in which he said the navy had successfully escorted one through.