U.S. President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that the Navy has removed or destroyed all mines from the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz, warning that any vessel caught laying new explosives would be "immediately and systematically destroyed." Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the U.S. is monitoring the waterway and Iran's Pickaxe Mountain nuclear site via aerial and space-based surveillance.
The strait, through which roughly a fifth of the world's hydrocarbons normally pass, has been mined and blockaded since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, triggering a global fuel price spike. Oman's foreign minister met his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on Tuesday to discuss a temporary shipping corridor and demining efforts. Qatar, a major LNG exporter dependent on the strait, said it continues daily diplomatic calls with Washington and Tehran to revive negotiations.
Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln is docking in Thailand for rest after a record-breaking 200-plus days at sea without a port call. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed reports of low morale and suicide attempts aboard the carrier.