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US forces have begun preparing to clear sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz, Centcom announced on Saturday, marking a major move after weeks of wrangling over how to respond to Iran's blockade of the waterway.
It was not immediately clear whether the move was co-ordinated with Tehran, which had earlier claimed that a US military vessel approached the strait but turned back after being warned.
The announcement comes as US and Iranian officials hold talks in Islamabad to turn a fragile ceasefire into a longer-term deal, with the future of the strait a central sticking point.
According to the Central Command, operations started with two US Navy guided-missile destroyers — USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy — crossing the strait and conducting operations in the Arabian Gulf. The mission is aimed at removing sea mines that Washington says were laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage," said Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of Centcom. "We will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce," he added in a statement.
The operation is expected to expand in the coming days, with additional US craft, including underwater drones, joining the effort, Centcom clarified.
President Donald Trump had earlier said that the US had begun "clearing out" the Strait of Hormuz. His announcement came after suggesting that oil will soon begin moving through the strait "with or without" Iran's co-operation. The message was posted on Truth Social days after he suggested a "joint venture" in the waterway.
Despite the current ceasefire after six weeks of war, traffic in the strait, through which about 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas typically passes, remains severely constrained as focus falls on the US-Iran negotiations.
Nine vessels crossed the strait on Thursday and five transited on Wednesday, down from 11 on Tuesday, data from market intelligence firm Kpler showed. Before the war began on February 28, about 140 ships passed through the waterway each day. An estimated 230 vessels loaded with oil are stuck in the Arabian Gulf.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps called for ships to sail through Iranian waters, around Larak Island, to avoid sea mines in the strait, Reuters reported on Thursday. The IRGC told vessels to enter the strait north of the island and exit to the south of it, in co-ordination with the group's navy.
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a statement that the country planned to control the waterway. "We will also undoubtedly take the management of the Strait of Hormuz to a new stage," he said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on Thursday said Iran's choking of the strait had become "everybody's" problem. "We are really focusing on the freedom of navigation in these waters," she told The National. "Because if we go down that slippery slope of giving the right to ask tolls or taxes over these waters that have been open before, then I think we will see this elsewhere in the world as well, and this is a very dangerous development."
The diplomatic efforts come as both sides navigate a fragile, high-risk moment in negotiations, with the temporary ceasefire set to expire on April 22 and significant gaps remaining between Washington and Tehran on core issues including the strait, uranium enrichment, and sanctions relief.
