Breaking News: U.S. Says It Struck 16 Iranian Mine-Laying Vessels Near Oil Route
Amid concerns that Iran plans to choke off the world’s access to oil, the U.S. military said Tuesday that its forces had attacked 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near a major oil route.
The U.S. Central Command said on social media Tuesday evening that it had struck the vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. A video accompanying the post showed munitions hitting nine vessels, most of which were moored at the time of the attack.
Whether any Iranian mines have been deployed in the water since the United States and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28 was unclear. In the 1980s, Iranian forces laid mines in the Persian Gulf that required clearance by U.S. Navy minesweepers. In April 1988, an Iranian mine severely damaged — though did not sink — an American frigate, leading U.S. forces to launch retaliatory strikes.
News of the minelayer strikes came on a day when the Trump administration officials sent mixed messages about the war, including about oil transport. They were the latest in a string of muddled statements about a conflict that has so far killed more than 1,800 people and disrupted global energy markets.
U.S. forces eliminated multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. pic.twitter.com/371unKYiJs
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 10, 2026
The confusion was typified by Chris Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, saying on social media that a Navy warship had “successfully escorted” an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz, where the war has slowed ship traffic. Shortly afterward, a military official said that had not happened, and the social media post was deleted.
The day before, President Trump threatened to strike Iran “TWENTY TIMES HARDER” if it moved to stop the flow of oil through the strait, even though Tehran had already begun doing so days earlier.
And in a news briefing at the White House, the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that President Trump, and not the leaders of Iran, would be the one to declare that Iran had unconditionally surrendered — one of the conditions he has laid out for ending the war.
“When President Trump says that Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, he’s not claiming the Iranian regime is going to come out and say that themselves,” she said.
Early in the day, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that Tuesday would be marked by a significant increase in American and Israeli strikes on Iran. As midnight passed in the Middle East that had not appeared to take shape, though Israel did begin a wave of attacks early Wednesday local time.
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