Iran’s response to days of aerial bombardment and long-range artillery strikes has proved more resilient than Trump administration officials anticipated.
The threats to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are complicating President Trump’s calculations about how and when to end the war.
A fifth of the world’s oil passes through the strait, making it a critical choke point in global commerce.
The United States said this week that it had attacked 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. In the 1980s, Iranian mines damaged oil tankers and a U.S. Navy warship.
A video posted by the U.S. Central Command showed munitions striking nine vessels, most of which were moored at the time. Whether any mines have been laid in Gulf waters was unclear.
U.S. strikes have heavily targeted Iran’s large ships and bases, but its Revolutionary Guard navy is a more nimble force.
As the war with Iran threatens to engulf more countries in the region, President Trump said he wanted to be involved in picking a new leader in Tehran.
The United States has long considered Iranian naval ships a serious threat, even as the country’s nuclear and missile programs dominate discussions of its military capabilities.
Since 1991, Navy subs have launched scores of cruise missiles in combat, but the torpedo attack off Sri Lanka is a return to form after 80 years.
Shipping companies are not sending oil and gas through the Strait of Hormuz because they fear their ships might be attacked.