Iran uses sea mines to halt Strait of Hormuz shipping
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Iran is holding the world’s energy supply hostage using “World War I-style” tactics, a former US Central Command (CENTCOM) official said.
Iran responded to the US and Israeli attacks by stopping shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, which is vital for global oil. The regime uses naval mines, reportedly stockpiled in the thousands, to make crossing the strait difficult and deadly.
“This is a nightmare that has been over 30 years in the making,” former CENTCOM Communications Director Col. Joe Buccino (Ret.) said Saturday on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
“What you just pointed out on your wall is a World War I-style war being waged by Iran,” he added.
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President Donald Trump sits at a table monitoring military operations during Operation Epic Rage against Iran at the White House in Washington, D.C., on March 2. (White House, X/Anadolu, via Getty Images)
Mines can explode at or below the surface of water; this explosion could possibly blow a hole in the ship’s hull, sinking or disabling it. Buccino said that although the United States has superior advanced technology, mines are an effective threat.
“These mines are really a tool of psychological warfare. We don’t know how many there are out there. We don’t know where they are. This creates fear and cuts off the flow in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.
Buccino said mines have become a difficult problem because the U.S. Navy has “decommissioned” most of its mine-sweeping ships. He warned that Iran was likely aware of this and was “exploiting the gap” in US naval assets.
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Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Altaf Kadri)
Disruptions in the Bosphorus caused oil prices to rise. President Donald Trump said Friday on the “Brian Kilmeade Show” that the United States would be willing to escort ships through the Bosphorus “if necessary.”
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On Friday, Trump announced that the United States had struck military sites on Kharg Island, the center of Tehran’s oil infrastructure in the Persian Gulf. Writing in Truth Social, the president said:
“Moments ago, United States Central Command, under my instructions, carried out one of the most powerful bombing raids in the history of the Middle East, completely destroying all MILITARY targets on Iran’s jewel, Kharg Island.”
Smoke rises after the explosions in Tehran, Iran, on March 2. (Sohrab/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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Trump said the United States has deliberately avoided targeting the island’s oil infrastructure, but warned that could change if Iran continues to disrupt shipping.
Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the war is over and demanded the removal of US military bases from the region.
