Weather 
The head of the U.S. military’s Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, has echoed President Trump’s insistence that the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes are clear of sea mines, saying they are “open, and momentum is building.”
He acknowledged, however, that vessels still seek direct U.S. military protection to use the vital waterway, which Iran has scared many commercial shippers away from since the U.S. and Israel launched their joint war on Iran six months ago — driving global oil prices up by about 30% compared to pre-war levels.
In a video statement posted online Thursday evening, Cooper said the U.S. military had “meticulously and quietly” cleared mines 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,” he said. “Today, international shipping lanes are open, and momentum is building.”
Mr. Trump said Thursday the U.S. helped 24 oil tankers transit the strait the previous night, reiterating his insistence that the waterway was de-mined, which he’d said several times before Cooper released his statement.
But two dozen ships is a far cry from the roughly 120 that would typically transit the strait daily before the U.S. and Israel launched their joint war on Iran, and shippers remain highly wary of using the waterway given Iran’s ongoing threat to vessels that risk passage without coordination with Tehran.
Majid Asgaripour/WANA/REUTERS
Some U.S. allies have also said they do not believe the strait has been fully de-mined, according to a Wednesday report by Bloomberg.
Regardless of whether mines still lurk in the water, Iran’s threat to attack ships has kept traffic to a minimum. Even as he touted building momentum, Cooper acknowledged that ships still want direct U.S. assistance to make the passage, saying: “Over the past several months, U.S. forces have assisted nearly 1,500 commercial vessels in transiting the strait by providing coordinated protection.”
He said while the U.S. had enabled those ships to move 750 million barrels of crude oil out of the Persian Gulf, “Iran has exported zero barrels of oil from its shores since we resumed the naval blockade in mid-July.”
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad acknowledged on Thursday that the country’s exports had “declined to some extent” — which is likely a significant understatement — but he insisted “the sale of our oil outside our territorial waters, in distant waters — meaning the delivery of oil to our customers — has continued,” despite the U.S. blockade.
Analysts note Iran can also export its energy products over land, including to its most valuable trade partner, China.
