US destroys Iranian naval ships and minelayers near Strait of Hormuz, military says

The US military announced that it targeted and destroyed several Iranian naval vessels, including 16 minelayers, close to the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. US Central Command shared videos of some strikes on social media platform X. Earlier reports from CNN indicated that Iran has started placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz, which is crucial for global energy transport as it carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two sources familiar with US intelligence. In a post on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump stated that “if Iran has laid any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!” Following this, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tweeted that, at Trump’s request, US Central Command “has been targeting inactive mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz—eliminating them with great precision. We will not let terrorists control the Strait of Hormuz.”