The Pentagon on Wednesday flatly denied a Washington Post report that it could take six months for the U.S. military to clear mines laid by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for global oil shipments.
The Post, citing three officials familiar with a classified briefing, reported that a senior Defense Department official had told members of the House Armed Services Committee that clearing the strait could take half a year. But Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell dismissed the account as “cherry picking leaked information, much of which is false.”
“As we said in March, one assessment does not mean the assessment is plausible, and a six-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an impossibility and completely unacceptable” to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Parnell said in a statement.
The denial comes amid escalating tensions in the region since the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28. In response, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has seeded the strait with naval mines and warned commercial vessels against transiting the waterway, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil passes daily.
The disruption has sent oil prices soaring globally and pushed U.S. gasoline prices higher. According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas stood at more than $4.03 as of Thursday — down 24 cents from a week earlier but still more than 85 cents above the same period last year.
The U.S. Navy has imposed its own blockade on the strait, which took effect last week. President Trump escalated the response Thursday, ordering the Navy to “shoot and kill any boat” placing mines. “There is to be no hesitation. Additionally, our mine ‘sweepers’ are clearing the Strait right now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
U.S. Central Command reported on X that American forces have directed 31 vessels to “turn around or return to port” as part of the blockade. The command noted that a “majority” of vessels have complied, with most of those turning back being oil tankers.
For more context on the broader crisis, see our coverage of Trump’s directive to fire on mine-laying boats and the ongoing Iranian seizures of commercial vessels amid stalled negotiations.
The Pentagon’s adamant rejection of the six-month timeline underscores the high stakes in a confrontation that threatens to disrupt global energy markets and test the Biden-era policy of deterrence. With Hegseth calling the scenario “impossible,” the administration is signaling it will not accept a prolonged closure — even as mines remain a persistent threat in the region’s narrow shipping lanes.
