Iran has been accused of littering the Strait of Hormuz with mines as the key oil route becomes a battleground in its war with the US and Israel.
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the US would “look very strongly” at the strait despite claiming to have “knocked out” all of Iran’s mine-laying vessels.
US forces claim to have hit 58 Iranian naval ships, including 16 mine-layers near the Strait of Hormuz, with Mr Trump suggesting Iran is “pretty much at the end of the line”. Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations has received reports of 16 ship attacks in and around the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.
The US Institute for the Study of War estimated on Wednesday that 10 mines had been laid, further complicating the blockade, though Mr Trump had said earlier that ships “should” transit through the strait. About one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr Trump warned Iran about releasing mines across the strait in a rant on Truth Social on Tuesday, writing: “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!
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before.”
Below, The Independent looks at Iran’s mine collection and how it is being used in the war.
What are the mines?
Iran has a stockpile of at least 2,000 Soviet, Western and Iranian made drifting and moored contact mines, according to experts at the Strauss Center. It is also said to have maintained a substantial collection of newer, more advanced, bottom and rising mines from Russia, China and North Korea.
Compared to other weapons, mines are inexpensive. The Strauss Center estimates that a simple contact mine can cost as little as $1,500 (£1,123.07).
Iran primarily sets mines using frogmen on small boats that resemble ordinary fishing vessels, an informal maritime militia of dinghies that is virtually impossible to identify and eliminate, according to theWall Street Journal.
Iranian Maham mines form a substantial part of the country’s artillery. They include a range of sea mines that can be released in the water and triggered in a number of different ways, as well as limpets that attach to parts of ships.
The advanced Maham-2 mine can be deployed onto the seabed, at a depth of 10-50m, to destroy submarines and surface level vessels. They have a 350kg explosive charge with magnetic and acoustic sensors, according to Collective Awareness to UXO (CATUXO).
Meanwhile, the Sadaf-02 sea mine is designed to sit just below the waterline and detonate at around 114kg of explosives, after contact with a passing ship.
One of the limpet mines, the Maham 4, attaches to various ship platforms via a frogman, attaching with a nail gun or magnet. It operates at between one and 40m, and runs on a timer, adjustable between 10 minutes and six hours for a large explosion.
What damage do the mines do?
The primary aim of sea mines is to damage ships and submarines. They use underwater explosions to generate enough force to breach hulls and sink vessels.
Iran has a vast array of sea mines, capable of causing different levels of damage, depending on how they are deployed, and how much explosives they contain.
Seabed mines, embedded deep below the surface, are detonated when the pressure differential between an expanding gas bubble and the water quickly creates a void or hole. The gas bubble shoots rapidly upward and the initial explosion creates damaging shock waves.
Meanwhile, limpets are detonated when ships trigger mines by contact or via the ship noise and magnetic signals.
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