The President of the United States, Donald Trump, said this Wednesday (11) that American forces have destroyed more than 20 Iranian vessels used to lay mines in the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war against Iran. The statement was made during a conversation with journalists, in which the Republican stated that the naval operations are part of the offensive led by the USA and Israel in the Persian Gulf.
“They started talking about mines. So we’ve hit 28 mine ships so far, 28,” Trump told reporters in the US.
Later, according to the EFE news agency, the American president raised the number of vessels hit to almost 60 and stated that practically all of Iran’s naval capacity had been destroyed.
“We dismantled almost all of their mine ships in one night,” Trump said.
This Tuesday (10), Trump had already announced that American forces had struck ten boats used by Iran to install mines in the region, a number that was later updated by military authorities to 16 vessels. The president’s new statement indicates that the total number of targets destroyed has increased over the past few hours.
The Strait of Hormuz is considered one of the most sensitive points in the ongoing conflict, as around 20% of the oil traded in the world passes through the region. The installation of mines by Iran in the region could completely interrupt ship traffic and have a strong impact on the global energy market, which is already feeling the effects of the war.
