Axios: US gains upper hand in battle for Strait of Hormuz

The United States says it has significantly reduced Iran’s ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington seeks to restore commercial traffic through the strategic waterway after months of conflict, Axios reports.

Barak Ravid, Global Affairs Correspondent for Axios, reported that more than 200 mine-like objects had been swept from the main shipping lane.

"US officials said only 11 were actual mines and that just a few had been properly deployed," he said on X.

The strait has been a central flashpoint since the war began in late February. Iran announced its closure in the first days of the conflict and threatened vessels attempting to pass through, while the deployment of naval mines in the main international shipping lane brought commercial traffic to a near standstill.

The disruption sent Brent crude prices as high as $126 a barrel, compared with about $72 before the war. The Strait of Hormuz subsequently became a key focus of US military and diplomatic efforts, with its reopening forming part of a US-Iran memorandum of understanding signed in June. That agreement later collapsed, however, and the waterway never returned fully to normal.

Since then, the US military has undertaken a series of operations aimed at reopening the strait. A US task force, working with the United Arab Emirates, has escorted vessels through its southern channel while providing air protection against Iranian drone and cruise-missile attacks. US forces have also conducted mine-clearance operations involving Navy divers, underwater and surface drones and private contractors.

The US military now says internationally recognised shipping lanes in the strait are free of Iranian sea mines. CENTCOM commander Adm Brad Cooper described the development as a major milestone, saying international shipping lanes were open and that momentum was building.

Washington nevertheless acknowledges that traffic and oil exports remain well below pre-war levels. US officials say traffic through the southern channel has increased to between 20 and 30 tankers a night, carrying roughly 9 million to 10 million barrels of oil — about half the pre-war volume.

Oil experts and tanker trackers have questioned whether US estimates accurately reflect the scale of the recovery. Reports of tankers being struck by projectiles have also continued, raising concerns over the safety of commercial navigation despite US assurances.

Iran, meanwhile, rejects the US assessment. Its Revolutionary Guard has said it retains control of the Strait of Hormuz and that restrictions on shipping will remain until Washington ends its military campaign and meets Tehran’s demands.

The US aims to expand traffic further, with officials hoping to widen the main channel so that at least 50 vessels can transit the strait each night by mid-September. Washington ultimately wants to restore 60% to 70% of pre-war oil exports through the waterway.

The reopening effort has also coincided with renewed diplomatic activity. Pakistan, Oman and Qatar have all been involved in recent contacts with Tehran, amid attempts to establish arrangements for shipping through the strait.

For now, the Strait of Hormuz remains only partially reopened. The US says it has substantially weakened Iran’s ability to obstruct the waterway and cleared its principal international shipping lane of mines. Iran disputes that assessment, while commercial traffic remains significantly below pre-war levels.

The strategic contest over Hormuz therefore remains unresolved — but the balance of control over one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints appears to have shifted.

By Aghakazim Guliyev