Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) dropped more mines in the Strait of Hormuz this week, Axios reported on Thursday, citing a US official and a souce with knowledge.
The US military detected Tehran's operation to lay additional mines and has been closely tracking it, the report said.
Experts estimate that fewer than 100 mines have been placed, but a US official declined to provide the exact number known to the US, Axios added.
US President Donald Trump ordered the US Navy in a Truth Social post on Thursday to “shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be, that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.”
He added that the US’s mine “sweepers” are clearing the Strait, and that activity should be upped to a “tripled up” level.
US enforcing blockade of the Strait of Hormuz
In its latest operation, titled Economic Fury, the US has been intercepting and seizing ships attempting to break its blockade or providing support for the IRGC.
The operation was announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at a Pentagon press conference earlier in May and began with a full blockade of Iranian ports.
Top US General Dan Caine told reporters on Thursday that the US is enforcing a blockade of the Strait “across the board,” and that it will pursue any vessel attempting to provide support to Iran.
Enforcement will occur in Iranian seas and international waters, he claimed, adding that the US will continue to conduct interceptions in the Pacific and Indian oceans against Iranian vessels.
Hegseth told reporters on Friday that any more attempts to lay mines would be a violation of the ceasefire, adding that the blockade is “growing and going global.”
Reuters contributed to this report.