Has Iran already laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz? ... Using small boats

According to The Financial News, claims have emerged that the Islamic Republic of Iran, which has been controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz since the 28th of last month (local time), has now begun laying naval mines in earnest. Earlier, the United States of America (USA) asserted that there were no mines in the strait, saying it had destroyed a large number of Iran’s mine-laying vessels.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 13th, citing U.S. government officials, that Iran began laying mines the previous day using small boats. The paper noted that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran (IRGC) possesses thousands of small craft, in addition to regular warships, that can be mobilized for such operations.
Roughly 20% of the world’s seaborne oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz, whose narrowest point is about 33 kilometers wide. Within that area, the actual navigable shipping lanes are only about 6 kilometers across. If the Islamic Republic of Iran were to lay just a few dozen mines along this chokepoint, large oil tankers would in practice be unable to pass.
Donald John Trump, president of the USA, who has been attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran since the 28th of last month, has reacted sensitively to traffic through the strait after oil prices surged due to Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking to reporters on the 11th, he claimed, "Overnight we eliminated most of the mine-laying vessels in the Strait of Hormuz," adding that "59 to 60 ships were destroyed."
United States Central Command (CENTCOM), which is overseeing the airstrikes, wrote on X on the 12th that "since the start of the air campaign, we have struck roughly 6,000 targets inside Iran," and said that about 30 of roughly 90 destroyed vessels were mine-laying ships. Scott Bessent, the USA’s finance minister, also said in an interview with Sky News the same day, "Even now, Iranian tankers and some Chinese-flagged vessels are passing through the strait. We know they have not laid mines."
However, Mojtaba Khamenei, recently chosen as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, announced on the 12th that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would remain in place. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing experts, estimated that 10 naval mines had already been laid in the strait. According to a U.S. military website, one of Iran’s mines, the Maham 1 naval mine, is designed to float in shallow water at a depth of about 1 meter. It can detonate up to 120 kilograms of explosives and can be chained or anchored to the seabed.
Quoting officials, NYT predicted that if the U.S. military is forced to conduct mine-clearing operations in the Strait of Hormuz for several weeks, the effort would entail enormous costs and significant risks.
pjw@fnnews.com Reporter Park Jong-won Reporter