The United States Navy deployed two destroyers to clear sea mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz as the two-week ceasefire remains in effect, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday morning.
The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday to begin clearing mines deployed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. More U.S. forces, including underwater drones, will arrive in the strait to join the clearance operation soon.
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Trump said the only threat that Iranian forces had left was that a ship may “bunk” into their sea mines, which the Islamic regime apparently can’t locate. Trump suggested this was the case because Iran doesn’t have the means to retrieve them.
“All 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” he said. “Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.”
“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,” Adm. Brad Cooper said, commander of CENTCOM.
Iranian state media reported that Tehran threatened to attack a U.S. destroyer if it continued sailing toward the Strait of Hormuz, communicating their warning to a mediator in Pakistan. The U.S. did not receive word of such a warning, according to an Axios reporter.
Both sides are engaging in peace talks in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad on Saturday after a tentative deal to pause the fighting was made earlier this week. Vice President JD Vance is heading the U.S. delegation.
A U.S. official said the operation was “focused on freedom of navigation through international waters,” referring to the sea mine recovery efforts.
TRUMP HAILS ‘MASSIVE NUMBERS’ OF EMPTY TANKERS HEADING TO US FOR OIL
Trump continues to boast that much of Iran’s military capabilities are destroyed and its senior leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have been killed.
“Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime ‘Leaders’ are no longer with us, praise be to Allah,” he said in a comment appearing to mock Islam.
