Trump says US forces are ‘clearing’ Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, April 11 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media on Saturday that the U.S. military had begun clearing the Strait of Hormuz nL1N40T08R and that all of Iran’s minesweepers had been sunk.

“We are currently beginning the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post, adding that Iran’s “28” mine-clearing boats were also found “at the bottom of the sea.”

Minutes before Trump’s post, news began to emerge about the presence of US Navy ships in the Bosphorus.

An Axios journalist, citing an unnamed US official, reported that “several” US ships had crossed the strait on Saturday, but Iranian state television soon reported that an Iranian military official denied that claim.

Trump has repeatedly said American forces destroyed Iran’s navy and air force while crippling its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

But in the past few weeks, fears of Iranian attacks on shipping have effectively closed the “Strait of Hormuz”, a critical channel for global oil supplies. The narrowing of the strait disrupted global energy markets.

U.S. gasoline prices have skyrocketed even though most of the oil flowing through the waterway doesn’t go to the United States

Representatives from the United States and Iran began talks on nL1N40U01A hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad on Saturday, amid a fragile ceasefire in the conflict.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Jan Harvey and Sergio Non)