US finds no confirmed mines in Hormuz, despite claims

• US finds no confirmed mines in Strait of Hormuz
• Findings challenge earlier US claims on Iranian mines
• Officials say strikes occurred without proof of mine deployment
• Navy still rates regional maritime threat as critical

months-long, resource-intensive search by the United States military has failed to definitively verify the presence of naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, according to two US officials and a person familiar with the matter.

The revelation introduces stark confusion into official narratives surrounding one of the ongoing war's most critical geopolitical flashpoints and suggests the actual threat to the strategic waterway is vastly lower than publicly stated.

"If anything, the threat has been far less robust than we had feared," a source familiar with the matter disclosed.

3 months fruitless searches

When the conflict initially erupted on February 28 -prompting Iran to seize control of the strait, halt shipping, and spike global oil prices- US intelligence agencies assessed that Tehran had mined the southern side of the waterway.

Washington responded in mid-April by implementing a naval blockade on all ships originating from Iranian ports.

However, a intensive three-month sweep using automated water robots, specialized underwater drones, and both manned and unmanned reconnaissance aircraft has yielded no definitive results.

While search teams located several ambiguous objects, none were confirmed as mines.

"There's been an ongoing search effort, and we've applied more resources to it. But it has not yielded specific results that validate previous reports of dozens and dozens of mines that could have been placed." An anonymous US official stated.

The lack of physical evidence stands in stark contrast to high-level briefings.

Just last month, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine presented a media slide asserting Iran had laid fresh mines on April 23.

US intelligence analysts subsequently investigated the claim and determined there was zero evidence to support it.

Officials admitted they do not know why the unverified information was included in the chairman's presentation.

Airstrikes without proof

The timeline gaps raise serious questions regarding the justification for recent US kinetic operations in the Gulf.

On the same day as the disputed Joint Chiefs slide, President Trump issued a public directive ordering the US Navy to "shoot and kill" any Iranian boats seen deploying naval explosives.

The following Monday, American forces targeted and struck several Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) mine-laying boats under the banner of self-defense.

However, intelligence officials now acknowledge that the administration possessed no proof that those specific Iranian vessels had actually dropped mines into the water.

Similarly, a multi-day mine sweep conducted prior to a short-lived commercial escort mission in early May, known as "Project Freedom," failed to detect, remove, or detonate a single confirmed explosive.

Congress, Pentagon Discrepancies

The internal military assessments stand in direct opposition to testimony delivered to lawmakers.

On May 19, US Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Brad Cooper submitted a written statement to the House Armed Services Committee claiming that US forces had successfully "eliminated more than 90% of Iran's once-massive inventory of over 8,000 naval mines" via 700 targeted airstrikes.

President Trump mirrored these claims on Truth Social, writing that the US had already removed "numerous" mines through detonation, while simultaneously walking back the certainty of the threat by noting remaining mines would be dealt with "if any."

When pressed for clarification regarding the contradiction between congressional statements and field data, CENTCOM declined to elaborate, stating only that its operations to clear IRGC mines are ongoing and that specific details cannot be made public for operational security reasons.

Navy issues 'CRITICAL' threat alert

Despite the persistent lack of physical confirmation, the US Navy Central Command moved forward with escalating administrative protocols.

The Navy issued an urgent maritime advisory citing "dangerous and illegal mining" by Iran and officially designated the threat level in the region as "CRITICAL."

The advisory instructs all commercial mariners to completely bypass the strait's standard Traffic Separation Scheme, maintain continuous radio communication with Western naval authorities, and follow all instructions from US forces.

The Navy further warned that any vessel observed assisting or supporting suspected mine-laying actions would be immediately targeted by American forces.