Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran laying more mines in the Strait of Hormuz would be a violation of the fragile cease-fire with the US.
“If there’s attempts to recklessly and irresponsibly lay more mines, we’re going to deal with that. It’s a violation of the cease-fire,” Hegseth told reporters at a briefing.
The US has started a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz to counter Iran’s attempts to take over the key waterway and control shipping.
“So transit is occurring much more limited than anybody would like to see, and with more risk that people would like to see, but that’s because Iran is doing irresponsible things with small, fast boats, crafts, like I said, with weapons on them,” Hegseth said.
Asked about a Washington Post report that the Pentagon has estimated to lawmakers it could take up to six months to fully sweep the Strait of Hormuz for Iranian-laid mines, Hegseth did not deny the assessment.
“We would not speculate on a timeline,” he said. “I saw that report. It was based on, again, another leak from a closed door session, which was supposed to be classified. And apparently, allegedly, that was something that was said.”
“We feel confident in our ability, in the correct period of time, to clear any mines that we identify, and would encourage other countries to be a part of such an effort as well, but we’re tracking that very closely.”