Iran made preparations to mine the Strait of Hormuz, US sources say
Last month, the Iranian military reportedly loaded naval mines onto vessels situated in the Persian Gulf, a development that significantly heightened Washington's apprehension. According to two US officials, this action fueled concerns that Tehran was preparing to blockade the Strait of Hormuz, coming on the heels of Israeli strikes against various sites within Iran.
These previously undisclosed preparations, detected by American intelligence agencies, took place sometime after Israel initiated its first missile attack on Iran on June 13. The officials, who spoke anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the intelligence, confirmed these details.
The act of loading the mines—though they were never deployed in the strait—suggests a potential seriousness on Tehran's part regarding the closure of one of the world's most vital shipping arteries. Such a move would have dramatically escalated an already volatile conflict and severely disrupted global trade.
Roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas shipments traverse the Strait of Hormuz. Consequently, any blockage would almost certainly have led to a sharp increase in global energy prices.
However, global benchmark oil prices have, in fact, declined by more than 10% since the US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. This drop is partly attributable to a collective sigh of relief that the conflict did not trigger significant disruptions in the oil trade.
It's worth noting that on June 22, shortly after the US bombed three of Iran's key nuclear sites in an effort to cripple Tehran's nuclear program, Iran's parliament reportedly endorsed a measure to block the strait.
At the time, Iran's Press TV clarified that this parliamentary decision was not legally binding; the final authority for such a closure rested with Iran's Supreme National Security Council. Over the years, Iran has frequently issued threats to close the strait, but it has consistently refrained from executing them.
While the sources did not reveal the specific methods by which the United States ascertained that the mines had been placed on Iranian vessels, intelligence of this nature is typically gathered through satellite imagery, clandestine human sources, or a combination of both.
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