The United States Army insisted this Thursday that it “successfully removed” mines placed “months ago” by Iran in the maritime routes of the Strait of Hormuz, while boasting that as its troops facilitated the exit of “750 million barrels of crude oil,” Tehran “has not exported a single barrel” since the resumption of its blockade.
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“The internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait (of Hormuz) are free of Iranian naval mines thanks to the incredible work of the United States Armed Forces,” stated the head of the United States Central Command (Centcom), Admiral Brad Cooper, in a video shared on social media.
This Tuesday, the U.S. president, Donald Trump, had already stated that the strategic passage, at the epicenter of tensions between Washington and Tehran since the outbreak of the Middle East conflict, was free of mines, while threatening the Islamic Republic that it would “destroy” any ship that tries to place them again.
Cooper also indicated in his message that “in recent months” his troops have helped “almost 1,500 commercial vessels to cross the strait by providing coordinated protection”, vessels that, he maintained, “carried almost 750 million barrels of crude oil destined for global energy markets.”
“While U.S. forces have facilitated the exit of 750 million barrels of crude oil from the Gulf, Iran has not exported a single barrel of oil from its coasts since we resumed the naval blockade in mid-July. We have been extremely effective,” he added.
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The head of Centcom also specified that although “no ship has entered or left Iranian ports” without Washington’s permission, the passage of vessels “for humanitarian reasons” has been “allowed”.
“Since the blockade was resumed, thousands of soldiers operating more than 20 warships and hundreds of aircraft have ensured our success, turning back 75 vessels that tried to bypass the blockade and disabling three vessels that did not comply with orders,” Cooper added.
In this context, it is worth adding that Washington — which maintains the aforementioned naval blockade against Iran — took a new step in the conflict by declaring an “economic war” against the Central Asian country.
A measure adopted after the 60-day deadline given by both countries to reach a global agreement and thus end the open conflict following the U.S.-Israeli offensive launched last February 28 ended.
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