Trump claims that the US now has control of the Strait of Hormuz

The US Navy has removed mines laid by Iran from the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump has claimed that the US now has full control of this strategically important waterway. Trump made this claim while talking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday (August 11).

He said that the US Navy has removed mines from the entire strait and that several ships are already sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. He also said that the US Navy is the only force currently in control of the Strait of Hormuz. In his words, US control over the waterway is now virtually complete.

Trump said that it is now open. However, he admitted that Iran could lay mines there again if it wanted. However, he said that US forces are identifying and removing them.

Trump referred to the US military position as a 'wall of steel'. He claimed that even though Iran occasionally lays mines, this has not changed US control over the Strait of Hormuz. According to the report, the US has also maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports since mid-April.

However, despite Trump’s claims that the Strait of Hormuz is open, shipping traffic is still much lower than normal. According to shipping data, only six ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, compared to a daily average of about 11 ships over the previous 10 days.

According to Kepler data, four cargo ships entered the strait on Tuesday. Two of them were empty oil tankers. At the same time, two more ships left the strait—one carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and the other carrying residual fuel.

In comparison, 25 ships passed through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea on Monday. The daily average over the past 10 days was about 24 ships.
In other words, despite the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is officially open, shipping traffic has not yet returned to normal.

Source: Samaa TV