Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. has heard Iran talking about placing new mines in the Strait of Hormuz, but he told reporters Friday, "We have no clear evidence of that."
He and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine briefed reporters at the Pentagon Friday on the latest developments in the war with Iran, as ship traffic remains largely stopped in the Strait, though Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the U.S. Navy could escort oil tankers through the waterway.
U.S. forces are continuing to target Iran's ballistic missiles and "continuing to destroy the Iranian navy," Caine said, "and this means going after Iran's mining capability and destroying their ability to go after commercial vessels." "That's not a strait we're going to allow to remain contested," Hegseth told reporters.
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil on Friday morning was around $93 per barrel. A day before the war began on Feb. 28, a barrel of WTI was selling for about $67. Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.
Hegseth and Caine spoke a day after a U.S. military refueling tanker crashed in western Iraq, killing at least four U.S. service members. Iran's missile volume is down 90%, Hegseth told reporters Friday.
