Even as leaders from US and Iran gathered in Islamabad on Saturday to negotiate a lasting end to the US–Iran war, a less visible but serious complication was emerging. Reports suggest Iran has been unable to account for all the naval mines it deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, raising concerns about maritime safety and any potential agreement.
The developmen comes amid US President Donald Trump claiming that the United States had already begun “clearing” the Strait.
ALSO READ: Trump's Big Hormuz Claim Amid Iran Peace Talks: 'Starting Process Of Clearing Out The Strait'
How Did The Mines Get There?
Iran began mining the strait in March after the war started, using small boats to deploy the weapons across the waterway, AL Jazeera reported. US officials said at the time that the operation appeared "neither fast nor efficient." The operation relied on decentralised forces, small boat crews operating without a clear chain of command, and did not systematically track every placement.
In some cases, mines were deployed in ways that allowed them to drift away from their original positions, according to the NYT report. The result: Iran seeded one of the world's busiest shipping lanes with explosives and then lost track of where many of them ended up.
What Kind Of Mines Are These?
US officials, familiar with the latest intelligence, told CBS that US intelligence has identified at least two types.
The first is the Maham 3, a 300-kilogram buoyant, moored mine that floats below the surface. It carries acoustic sensors capable of detecting a passing ship from about 10 feet away, meaning even a non-magnetic hull can set it off.
The second is the Maham 7, a 220-kilogram bottom mine designed to sit on the seabed in water as shallow as 10 feet. It is specifically intended to evade sonar detection, making it far harder to find.
Why Are Mines So Hard To Remove?
Naval mines are simple to lay and extraordinarily difficult to clear. Mine-hunting ships must move at extremely slow speeds, making them sitting targets for missiles, drones, or enemy fire. The US military relies on littoral combat ships equipped with mine-sweeping gear, but these are not currently positioned in the strait.
All four US Navy Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships stationed in Bahrain were decommissioned in September 2025 and left the region in January 2026, five weeks before the conflict began. No allied mine-clearance operation has been proposed or authorised as of April 11.
Some countries also use drones to locate mines and then remote vehicles to detonate them. And other mines require sending divers in to neutralise them once identified.
According to the NYT, the US relies largely on combat ships equipped with minesweeping capabilities, rather than advanced technologies. Iran, too, does not have the capability to quickly remove mines.
Can The Strait Of Hormuz Be De-Mined?
In theory, yes. In practice, it is a months-long operation that no one has yet begun. The Washington Institute estimated that clearing the Strait of Hormuz could require up to 16 mine countermeasures vessels. The US Navy currently has seven.European nations are better equipped — Poland has over two dozen mine-clearing ships, and the UK, France and Turkey also maintain significant fleets. In past operations including the Gulf War and Iraq War, the US relied on European NATO allies for mine-clearing capability
Moreover, parts of some World War II naval minefields still exist because they are too extensive and expensive to clear.
According to another NYT report, after Iraq laid over a thousand naval mines in the Gulf in 1991, it took more than a dozen allied ships almost two months to clear the coast of Kuwait, averaging just over one mine a day. The technology has improved since then.
According to UN experts, dozens of sea mines deployed by Houthi rebels in the Red Sea during the Yemeni civil war can be a hazard to the busy shipping route for as many as 10 years.
ALSO READ: US-Iran War: Strait Of Hormuz Crisis Deepens As Iran Struggles To Clear Mines
Why This Matters For The Talks
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said after the ceasefire that the strait would reopen "with due consideration of technical limitations", language US officials interpret as a direct acknowledgment that Tehran cannot quickly locate or clear the mines it laid.
US officials estimate Iran possesses between 2,000 and 6,000 naval mines in total. Even if the Islamabad talks succeed politically, the physical danger in the water will not disappear with a signed piece of paper. Until the mines are found and cleared, the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world's oil normally flows, cannot safely reopen at scale.
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