Trump Claims US Navy Cleared Hormuz of Mines, Warns Iran of Retaliation
US President Donald Trump says the US Navy has removed or detonated all mines found in the international waters of the Strait of Hormuz, while issuing a strong warning against any attempt to lay new mines.
Trump said the Navy had informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated” in international waters. He added that Iran had been warned that any vessel involved in placing new mines would be “immediately and systematically destroyed,” signaling a zero-tolerance policy toward further disruption in the strategic waterway.
The claim comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran and continued uncertainty over efforts to revive an earlier memorandum of understanding between the two sides.
An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson, Sardar Mohebi, said the Trump administration’s use of economic pressure against Iran demonstrated what he described as a failure to achieve its objectives on the battlefield. Iranian state media reported the remarks as tensions between the two countries remain high.
.jpg)
Pakistan’s interior minister, meanwhile, said significant progress had been made during discussions with Iran’s president aimed at restoring the previous US-Iran memorandum of understanding. However, a White House official told Al Jazeera that the Trump administration is not currently holding talks with Tehran, highlighting conflicting accounts about the state of diplomatic efforts.
The situation around the Strait of Hormuz remains particularly sensitive because the waterway is a major route for global energy shipments. Any renewed mine-laying activity could increase the risk to commercial and military vessels and further escalate tensions in the region.
Fatah Condemns UNRWA Facility Action
Elsewhere, the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, or Fatah, condemned the forced displacement of UNRWA’s vocational facilities in Qalandiya, near Kafr Aqab on the northern edge of occupied East Jerusalem.
.jpg)
Fatah described the targeting of UNRWA facilities as an attack on the Palestinian refugee issue and called on the UN Security Council, General Assembly, secretary-general and member states to take urgent action to protect UN facilities and personnel.
Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti also condemned Israel’s storming of a UN training facility in the Qalandiya refugee camp. He argued that the lack of international consequences had allowed Israel to act with what he described as impunity.
Barghouti said the actions against UNRWA-related facilities were violations of international law and UN resolutions. He also argued that attacks on UNRWA threaten humanitarian assistance as well as the rights and status of Palestinian refugees.
.jpg)
The developments come as tensions remain high across the region, with the Strait of Hormuz dispute and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict continuing to generate international concern.