Navy SEALs conduct four-month mine clearing in Hormuz

U.S. Navy SEAL divers conducted a covert, four-month operation to locate and destroy suspected Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to reopen vital international shipping lanes. The high-risk mission, largely carried out under the cover of darkness, utilized a combination of elite divers, unmanned surface vessels, and underwater robots equipped with sophisticated sonar technology. According to reports citing individuals familiar with the operation, the SEAL teams worked from inflatable boats, employing unmanned systems to scan the seabed for mines. Once identified, divers or unmanned craft would approach and destroy the explosives. This process, described as painstakingly slow and hazardous, involved attaching charges to neutralize the mines. Retired U.S. Navy Captain Bill Hamblet noted that such operations typically require a navy diver to attach a charge to the mine for destruction. U.S. Central Command announced in late August that American forces had cleared sea mines from the strait's international shipping lanes, a claim echoed by President Donald Trump, who stated in August that mines had been removed or detonated.