US officials claim Iran unable to find mines it laid in strait of Hormuz, report says

Iran is unable to find the mines it laid in the Strait of Hormuz and does not have the capacity to remove the explosives, preventing Iran from allowing more traffic through the waterway, the New York Times reported, citing US officials.The opening of the Strait of Hormuz – a chokepoint for a fifth of the world’s oil supply – is a primary demand of the US to end the war in Iran. The virtual closure of the strait sent fuel prices soaring, creating the world’s largest energy crisis in decades and putting pressure on US president Donald Trump at home.Negotiators from the US and Iran were meeting in Islamabad this weekend to negotiate a final truce to end the war. A continued closure of the strait could prove to be a stumbling bloc for the talks as Trump demanded the complete and immediate opening of the waterway for the current pause in fighting to be sustained.Iran laid mines in the Strait of Hormuz last month after the US and Israel declared war against the country, dropping explosives throughout the waterway with small boats. The US was mostly unable to monitor the small boats which were mining the strait, leaving the country uncertain about the location and number of mines in the waterway.Maritime traffic through the strait ground almost to a standstill due to the mines, as well as Iranian drones and missiles that threatened to hit ships. A senior Revolutionary Guards official said on 2 March the country would set ships “ablaze” if they tried to traverse the strait.A small number of ships have continued to pass through after being given the go-ahead by Iran, which allowed vessels from friendly nations that paid tolls.US officials have said that Iran placed mines in the strait erratically, and may not have marked where it put all of them. Some mines also drifted or moved from their original location, US officials suggested.Neither Iran nor the US have the capacity to quickly demine the strait, particularly after the US destroyed much of Iran’s navy.Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister, previously said that the strait would be opened “with due consideration of technical limitations,” which US officials have interpreted as referring to challenges in demining the waterway.The strait has also remained mostly closed to traffic as Iran insisted that the two week ceasefire also include Lebanon. Iran and mediator Pakistan have said the US knew stopping Israeli strikes in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, despite US vice-president JD Vance claiming there was a “misunderstanding” between the two countries over Lebanon.Soaring oil prices from the closure of the strait and destruction of energy infrastructure in the Middle East has exacerbated inflation, the effects of which economists warn had not been yet been fully realised. Global poverty is expected to rise as the price of basic goods increases across the board.