US forces eliminated 16 mine-laying vessels as Trump warns Iran over Strait of Hormuz

The US Central Command released a video on March 10 saying it showed strikes on Iranian vessels and minelayers. The US military "eliminated" 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement, as President Donald Trump warned that any mines laid in the Strait by Iran must be removed immediately. Trump previously said the U.S. had "completely destroyed" 10 inactive mine-laying vessels. In apparent response to media reports that Iran had begun laying mines in the waterway, a key passage for oil shipments, Trump posted on Truth Social: "If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!"