Centcom says Iranian sea mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz transit routes

The U.S. military said Thursday that it has cleared all Iranian sea mines along internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a video posted to the social platform X Thursday evening, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said that “the U.S. military has achieved a major milestone in the Strait of Hormuz.”

“We have successfully cleared sea mines in the strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Internationally recognized transit routes in the strait are free of Iranian sea mines, thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. military,” Cooper added in the video.

If Iranian sea mines have been cleared as Cooper said, vessel movement through the strait will most likely be less restricted.

Traffic in the strait, a key waterway for the oil industry, has been severely restricted during the nearly six-month war against Iran, causing elevated oil and gas prices.

According to AAA , the average price of a regular gallon of gas in the U.S. was about $4.10 late Thursday, up from about $3.21 the year prior

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a global warning for countries to drop all financial ties with Iran or risk being barred from the U.S. dollar system, kicking off an economic pressure campaign against Tehran.

The campaign, named “Operation Economic Outcast,” has been promoted as a financial “D-Day” akin to the American invasion of Normandy in World War II.