President Trump said the Strait of Hormuz "is open" and that the Iranian response has been mild. He characterized the situation as dependent on Tehran's reluctance to provoke further U.S. action.
The commander of U.S. Central Command said American forces had successfully removed sea mines from internationally recognized shipping lanes in the strait that were laid months earlier by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He stated that transit routes are now free of Iranian mines.
CENTCOM's commander said that "today international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building" in the strategic waterway, through which roughly one-third of world seaborne oil trade passes.
