WASHINGTON, March 13- Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas passes, the New York Times reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi has denied the claim.
U.S. intelligence indicated that after larger Iranian mine-laying vessels were struck by the U.S. military, Iran began deploying smaller boats to place mines in the strait, said the report.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps can deploy hundreds, even thousands, of the small boats, which have long been used to harass larger ships, including those of the U.S. Navy, according to the report.
Iran’s strategy appears to be to lay mines faster than the U.S. military can clear them, creating a deterrent for shipping through the strait, it said.
CNN reported Tuesday that U.S. intelligence estimates the mining is not extensive yet, with a few dozen deployed in recent days.
However, Iran still retains upward of 80-90 percent of its small boats and mine layers, so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway, said the CNN report, citing sources.
In an interview with AFP on Thursday, Ravanchi said that “it is not true” that Iran was mining the strait and that Tehran has cooperated with some countries regarding passage through the waterway, without specifying which nations.
In his first message as Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei on Thursday called for the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz and pledged to open new fronts in his country’s conflict with the United States and Israel.
The United States and Israel launched massive attacks on Iran on Feb. 28, disrupting global shipping, sending oil prices soaring and shaking the global economy. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua) –
