US Navy begins Hormuz mine clearing. Iran disputes transit
Two US destroyers enter the Strait of Hormuz to clear Iranian sea mines
On April 11, 2026, the USS Frank E. Peterson (DDG 121) and USS Michael Murphy (DDG 112) became the first U.S. surface warships to transit the Strait of Hormuz since Iran declared the waterway closed on March 4. CENTCOM Admiral Brad Cooper announced the crossing and said the Navy was establishing a new passage that it would share with the commercial shipping industry soon.
Additional U.S. forces, including specialized underwater drone systems designed for mine detection and neutralization, were set to join the operation in coming days. Military sources described this as a multi-phase clearance effort, not a completed operation. CENTCOM USNI News
Key Concepts
Essential concepts and terms to understand this topic
Executive Order Sanctions
Presidential power to impose economic restrictions without Congress
Shadow Fleet Vessels
Ships that hide ownership to evade sanctions on oil transport
Naval Blockade
A military operation in which one country uses warships to prevent ships from entering or leaving another country's ports or maritime zone.
War Powers
The constitutional division of war-making power between Congress and the President.
Commander in Chief
The President's role as the highest-ranking military officer, making the President a civilian authority over the armed forces.
War Powers Gap
The constitutional gap between Congress's power to declare war and the president's power to wage military operations, allowing deployments to occur without formal congressional authorization.
Constitutional War Powers
The Constitution divides authority over military force between Congress (which declares war and funds troops) and the president (who commands forces as commander in chief).
Freedom of Navigation
The right of ships from all nations to pass through international straits and waters, protected under international law.
Peacetime vs. Wartime
How constitutional powers shift between Congress and the President during wartime and peacetime.
War Powers Resolution
A 1973 statute requiring the President to notify Congress of troop deployments and limiting combat operations to 60 days without congressional authorization.
Key People
8BC
Brad Cooper
Commander, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM)
Admiral Cooper publicly announced the April 11 transit, stated CENTCOM was establishing a new passage, and pledged to share the safe route with commercial shipping. As CENTCOM commander, he has operational authority over all U.S. military forces in the Middle East, including the ships conducting mine-clearing. His announcement made CENTCOM the primary public source of information about the operation, without releasing evidence to support the claims.
Donald Trump
President of the United States
Trump authorized U.S. military operations against Iran beginning in late February 2026, filed the War Powers Resolution notification on March 2, and threatened a naval blockade if ceasefire talks failed. He is the commander-in-chief ordering both the military pressure and the diplomatic engagement, creating the central tension between simultaneous escalation and negotiation.
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of Defense
Hegseth oversees the Defense Department and is CENTCOM's civilian superior. His department controls what operational information is released publicly, including whether rules of engagement for the Hormuz transit are disclosed. Congress must go through the Defense Department to obtain classified operational briefings about the mine-clearing mission.
Steve Witkoff
Presidential Envoy for Middle East Affairs
Witkoff led the U.S. delegation in the 21-hour ceasefire talks in Islamabad that collapsed on April 11 — the same day the Hormuz transit began. His simultaneous presence in diplomatic negotiations while the military operated in the same theater left the relationship between the two tracks unexplained publicly.
HS
Hossein Salami
Commander-in-Chief, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
General Salami commands the IRGC, whose forces laid the mines in the Strait and whose Navy branch disputed the U.S. account of the April 11 transit. The IRGC answers directly to the Supreme Leader rather than Iran's civilian government, meaning Iran's hardliners — not its diplomats — control the physical closure of the strait.
Marco Rubio
Secretary of State
Rubio oversees U.S. diplomatic efforts in the Iran conflict and would need to coordinate any final ceasefire agreement. His department's work runs in parallel with — and sometimes in tension with — the military pressure applied through CENTCOM.
Hakeem Jeffries
House Minority Leader
Jeffries led House Democratic efforts to force a War Powers Resolution vote requiring congressional authorization for the Iran conflict. He was in Washington on April 9 when Democrats attempted a pro forma unanimous consent resolution limiting Iran military operations, and said Democrats needed a handful of additional Republican votes to succeed.
Gregory Meeks
Ranking Member, House Foreign Affairs Committee
Meeks introduced H.Con.Res. 40, directing the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities against Iran under section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution. He announced after the failed March vote that he would force another vote once the 60-day clock expired, making him the primary driver of the more aggressive war powers effort in the House.
Claims & Perspectives
Disputed
Disputed
Iran forced the U.S. Navy destroyers to turn back before they transited the Strait of Hormuz.
CENTCOM stated the ships transited and operated in the Arabian Gulf — the eastern side, requiring a completed crossing. Iran's IRGC claimed it launched a drone at the ships and forced them to turn back. No independent observers were present and neither side released evidence as of April 11. Both governments have clear incentives to control the narrative. DISPUTED reflects genuine factual uncertainty. [1] [2] [3]
Disputed
Iran has a clear legal right to close the Strait of Hormuz to U.S. warships.
Iran asserts sovereignty over the 12-nautical-mile territorial waters through which the strait runs. UNCLOS guarantees transit passage rights to all nations through straits used for international navigation, including warships — but Iran has not ratified UNCLOS. The U.S. also hasn't ratified UNCLOS but asserts these rights as customary international law. Most scholars hold Iran cannot legally close the strait entirely; Iran disputes this. [1] [2]
Misleading
Misleading
The Strait of Hormuz carries one-third of the world's oil supply.
The Strait carries roughly 20% of global seaborne oil trade — about 20 million barrels per day. Some sources cite up to 27% when measuring all seaborne petroleum products including LNG. The 'one-third' figure overstates the number. [1] [2]
Misleading
The naval blockade Trump announced is already fully operational.
As of April 11, Trump had announced intent to blockade ships but the mine-clearing mission was only the first physical step. A fully operational blockade requires persistent enforcement — warships actively intercepting vessels — which had not been established. Cooper described the operation as setting conditions, not enforcing a blockade. [1] [2]
False
False
The mine-clearing mission is complete and the Strait is safe for commercial shipping.
As of April 11, the mission was only beginning. CENTCOM said the ships were setting conditions for mine clearance, and additional forces including underwater drones were set to join in coming days. Cooper said the Navy would share the safe passage route soon — not immediately. No official completion declaration was made. [1] [2]
False
Congress authorized Trump's Iran military operations when it voted against the war powers resolutions.
Congress failing to pass a resolution to end operations is not the same as authorizing them. The House voted 212-219 against a resolution ending operations — a failed constraint vote, not an affirmative authorization. Under the War Powers Resolution, presidential military action requires either a declaration of war or specific statutory authorization. Congress has passed neither. [1] [2]
False
All Iranian mines in the Strait have been located and documented.
U.S. officials specifically reported that Iran is struggling to locate all mines it laid because the operation lacked systematic documentation of placement coordinates. This is why the Navy deployed underwater drone systems rather than relying on any Iranian mine map. [1] [2]
What you can do
Contact your House representative about the War Powers vote
civic action
The War Powers Resolution's 60-day clock expires around May 1, 2026. Congress has declined to pass a resolution ending Trump's Iran operations but has also not formally authorized them. Your representative can push for a formal authorization vote before the clock runs out.
Contact your Senator ahead of the Senate war powers vote
civic action
The Senate returns from recess on April 13, and Minority Leader Schumer pledged to force a floor vote on an Iran war powers resolution. Your senator can vote to require congressional authorization for continued military operations. The Senate previously blocked a similar resolution 47-53, but the mine-clearing operation represents a new escalation.
Request public information about the Hormuz mine-clearing mission via FOIA
transparency
CENTCOM must release unclassified information about military operations under the Freedom of Information Act. You can file a FOIA request for public statements and any unclassified safety assessments about the mine-clearing operation.