Two US Navy destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz Saturday, laying the ground for the start of a mine clearing operation, US Central Command said.
The USS Frank E. Peterson and USS Michael Murphy transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf, Centcom said in a statement posted to X, adding that more US forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days.
“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,” said Centcom commander Admiral Brad Cooper.
Since the start of the war on Feb. 28, Iran has asserted control over the strait through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically flows, effectively halting most commercial traffic. The country has sporadically attacked ships in and around the Persian Gulf and may have laid mines to deter shipowners and crews from attempting to traverse the narrow waterway.
Several US navy ships crossed Hormuz on Saturday in an operation that wasn’t coordinated with Iran, Axios reported earlier, citing a US official it didn’t identify. The ships crossed the strait from east to west to the Gulf before making their way back to the Arabian sea, according to the report.
However, a regional intelligence official said two US Navy Arleigh Burke–class destroyers that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday were forced to turn back after encountering threats from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which also launched a UAV in the direction of the vessels.
The incident happened around noon Dubai time, as US and Iranian delegations were in Islamabad for negotiations, the official said, requesting anonymity to discuss confidential matters. The Centcom statement didn’t mention any Iranian attempt to turn the vessels back.
Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency also reported earlier the nation’s armed forces monitored a US destroyer seen moving from Fujairah toward the Strait of Hormuz and conveyed this to the US via Pakistani mediators. The US vessel returned from the strait after Tehran warned that it would be targeted, according to Fars.
Pakistan is mediating in peace talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad amid a two-week ceasefire in the hostilities, now in their second month.
