The U.S. Has Begun Forcing Open the Strait of Hormuz-U.S. Destroyers Passed Through Without Coordination With Iran

U.S. armed forces have begun an operation to secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed after a new escalation of the war in the Middle East began. U.S. President Donald Trump announced this.

According to him, the entire Iranian fleet, including 28 minelayers, has already been destroyed by American forces.

“Their navy is destroyed, their air force is destroyed, their air defenses no longer exist, the radars are not working, their missile and drone factories are virtually destroyed along with the missiles and drones themselves, and, most importantly, their longtime ‘leaders’ are no longer with us, thank Allah! The only threat is that a ship could ‘hit’ one of their naval mines, and, by the way, all 28 of their minelayers are also lying on the bottom of the sea,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

He added that the United States is beginning to clear the strait “in the interests of countries around the world,” including China, Japan, South Korea, France, and Germany, and stressed that, in his view, those states “lack both the courage and the political will” to carry out such a mission on their own.

On April 11, at least one U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Michael Murphy, passed through the Strait of Hormuz.

Axios journalist Barak Ravid, citing U.S. officials, reported that several ships had already crossed the strait. According to him, the move was not coordinated with Iran—for the first time since the war began.

As Ravid notes, U.S. warships passed through the strait from east to west and then returned to the Arabian Sea. Tehran, for its part, said that one of the U.S. vessels turned around and left the strait after receiving a warning.

Mine-clearing operations are to be carried out by Littoral Combat Ships, while destroyers provide cover for them and escort tankers. In effect, the passage of U.S. destroyers amounts to the forced reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran declared the strait closed to all vessels on February 28—the first day of the war with the United States and Israel—and began striking tankers with drones and missiles when they tried to pass without its permission. Since the conflict began, 28 such attacks have been recorded, continuing until the truce announced on April 8.

In addition, Tehran warned shipowners of potential danger along the main shipping lane because of possible mines and proposed an alternative route along the Iranian coast. No evidence confirming the presence of mines in the strait, however, has been presented. Most of Iran’s minelayers were destroyed in the first days of the war.