A day after Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) threatened not to let pass ‘a litre of oil’ from the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian forces have started to lay mines in the sea to halt the oil exports along with unleashing early Wednesday defiant new strikes around the region.The United States has launched an all-out assault on Iranian minelaying vessels, as President Donald Trump warned Tehran of unprecedented military consequences if it targets the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump's comments came after Tehran vowed that no Gulf oil would pass through the key waterway, with oil prices remaining highly volatile over the virtual halt of shipping in the strait. "I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive minelaying boats and/or ships, with more to follow!" Trump said on his Truth Social platform. 

Later, United States Central Command (CENTCOM) wrote on X that the figure had risen to 16 destroyed minelayers "near the Strait of Hormuz." CENTCOM's post included unclassified video footage showing various boats being struck by missiles or other projectiles and exploding. After several US media outlets said Iran had either started or was on the verge of mining the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said he had no reports that such action had begun.

But Trump warned: "If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before. "If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction!" The United States would also use the missiles it had previously employed to blow up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters to "permanently eliminate" any mine-laying boat in the Gulf strait, Trump added.

The White House said earlier Tuesday that the United States has not escorted any oil tanker through the waterway, after the energy secretary's social media account posted but then deleted a claim that it did so. Trump's administration has listed eliminating Iran's navy as a key military objective of "Operation Epic Fury," the joint US-Israeli offensive launched against Iran on February 28. On Monday Trump told Republican lawmakers Iran's navy has been decimated by US attacks, with at least 46 ships destroyed, including several "top-of-the-line" vessels.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)