U.S. officials have recently alerted that Iran has lost track of mines it deployed in the Strait of Hormuz and is currently unable to retrieve them.
Sources suggest that Tehran’s inability to locate these mines—positioned in a disorganized manner—might be the reason behind the delay in reopening the vital shipping passage to increased maritime traffic.
This situation poses a threat to tankers and other commercial vessels navigating through the Strait, a crucial channel through which up to 25% of the world’s oil supply transits, as they risk potential explosions.
The warnings coincided with peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, which kicked off yesterday in Islamabad, Pakistan. These talks followed a tentative ceasefire declared after six weeks of hostilities between the two nations.
However, the truce seemed precarious even before discussions commenced, as Tehran issued a warning about destroying any U.S. naval ships entering the Strait.
This warning came on the heels of reports that at least two U.S. Navy vessels passed through the strategic shipping lane the previous day, though their mission remains undisclosed.
Adding to the confusion, President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US was actively clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz and promised it would be reopened soon.
He said: ‘We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favour to countries all over the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the courage or will to do this work themselves.’
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is seen looking at pictures of school children killed in Madrasa Minab, Iran by US airstrikes
US Vice President JD Vance waves upon his arrival for the US-Iran peace talks in Islamabad on April 11, 2026
Ahead of the talks yesterday, Mr Trump appeared to taunt Tehran, also writing: ‘Their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their anti-aircraft apparatus is non-existent, radar is dead, their missile and drone factories have been largely obliterated along with the missiles and drones themselves and, most importantly, their long-time leaders are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!’
A US delegation led by Vice President J D Vance, Mr Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and the President’s son-in-law Jared Kushner yesterday held historic face-to-face meetings with Iranian negotiators in Islamabad.
It was the first time the US and Iran had held direct talks with one another for ten years – the most recent being the Iranian nuclear deal during the Barack Obama years.
Tehran yesterday claimed one of the ‘pre-conditions’ of the talks was the end of all Israeli attacks on Lebanon, which it said formed part of the truce agreed last week.
But Israel reportedly subjected Lebanon to at least 100 strikes yesterday as it targeted Hezbollah. Retaliating, the terror group fired missiles and drones at the Jewish state.
Israel also said it will take part in direct peace talks with the Lebanese government in Washington on Tuesday.
The Iranian delegation of 70 in Pakistan was led by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf as well as foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
On Mr Ghalibaf’s flight to Islamabad, empty seats on the plane carried photos of some of the 120 children from a school in Minab, southern Iran, killed during a US air strike on the first day of the six-week conflict.
The US and Iran yesterday said talks were ‘going well’, but few details have been released.
It emerged last night that Iran’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, sustained serious facial injuries that have left him disfigured and that he may have also had a leg amputated.
Tehran officials, who spoke anonymously, said that despite his injuries, Khamenei was ‘mentally sharp’ and taking part in all meetings, including those on the war and in Islamabad.
The sources dismiss previous US claims that the new Supreme Leader was either dead or in a coma after he was injured in US air strikes on a regime compound in Tehran that left his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dead, alongside most members of his family.
