US allies privately assess the Strait of Hormuz likely still contains sea mines;
while the US has made some clearance progress in international waters, allies
estimate Iran laid roughly 80–150 mines and that not all have been removed, with
some possibly drifting from original locations. CENTCOM declined to comment on
mine-count estimates. Analysts say the probability that all mines have been
cleared is extremely low; even if the mine threat eases, many commercial vessels
remain within range of Iranian drones and short-range missiles and outside
coverage of US air-defence systems. The IMO says there is no confirmed
mine-clearance information and urges maximum caution. Iran says only it knows
mine locations and warned US mine-clearing ships could be targeted. Iran and
Oman have discussed a temporary joint maritime corridor and demining project;
the UK and France are planning post-ceasefire demining and shipping-security
operations.
