US says it destroyed Iranian naval ships and minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz

CNN – The US military said it destroyed multiple Iranian naval ships — including 16 minelayers — near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

US Central Command posted video of some of the strikes on X.

CNN reported earlier today that Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.

President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”

Following Trump’s post, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on X that at Trump’s direction, US Central Command “has been eliminating inactive mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz—wiping them out with ruthless precision. We will not allow terrorists to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage.”