Iran is unable to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping due to its self-inflicted problem: It cannot locate all the mines it laid in the waterway to block the passage amid war, the New York Times reported, citing US officials. This is likely to make their peace talks with the US in Islamabad fraught with risk – given Donald Trump’s warning to Tehran to quickly reopen the chokepoint that carries around a fifth of the world’s oil supply and allow more traffic to pass through it.
Iran had used small boats to mine Hormuz last month – soon after the US and Israel carried out joint airstrikes across Iran over stalled nuclear talks, and claims that Tehran had resumed its nuclear activities. However, it is not clear whether Iran recorded the mines’ placements, the report said.
According to the report, some mines, whose placements were recorded by Iran, had been placed in a way that allowed them to drift or move – making it difficult to locate them.
The Iranian authorities mined the strait “haphazardly”, US officials said, reported NYT.
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