Trump claims all mines cleared from Strait of Hormuz and warns Iran of 'zero tolerance policy'
The U.S. and Iran have not conducted air strikes on each other's militaries for weeks, but attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have continued as the two sides vie for control of the narrow maritime passage
President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that all mines had been detonated or removed from international waters of the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran has been told that any ship or boat placing new mines will be destroyed.
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In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States, through its Space Force, was watching "every square inch" of the Strait, a key waterway in the global energy supply chain.
"There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect," Trump said.
The U.S. and Iran have not conducted air strikes on each other's militaries for weeks, but attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz have continued as the two sides vie for control of the narrow maritime passage.
Oil transits through the strait were at 5 million barrels per day on Monday, provisional data from shiptracker Vortexa showed, down from more than 20 million per day before the war or about one of every five barrels consumed worldwide.
This comes as Iran pledged to fight back against expanded U.S. sanctions aimed at isolating its economy, expressing confidence that major trading partners would resist the pressure campaign and saying that Washington was keen to revive talks.
Read More: Iran says it's confident it can weather Trump's latest economic sanctions
Almost six months into a conflict the U.S. has struggled to resolve, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing sanctions.
While he said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, he declined to give a timeline or identify which may be targeted, saying he would give them time to comply with the new directive.
Abbas Golroo, head of the foreign relations committee in the Iranian parliament, said Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir had delivered a message from the U.S. to Iran on Monday.
"It seems the main goal was to revive the stopped political process," he told ISNA news agency.
There was no immediate comment from the White House or the State Department.
Iran expressed a general willingness to resume peace talks during meetings between Iranian and Pakistani officials on Monday, while expressing concern about the sanctions, a Pakistani government source said.