APentagonassessment said it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines, which could keep oil prices high, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.
Iran has all but blocked the vital waterway since the start of a war with the United States and Israel, sharply driving up oil and gas prices and disrupting the global economy.
The strait — through which one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes in peacetime — has remained largely closed during a shaky ceasefire, with the US imposing its own blockade.
Even if hostilities end and the blockade lifts, it could take months to clear the waterway of mines, according to a Pentagon assessment, the Washington Post reported citing officials close to the discussion.
The assessment added that it was unlikely such an operation would begin before the end of the war.
The six-month estimate was shared with members of the House Armed Services Committee during a classified briefing, the Post reported.
Lawmakers were told that Iran may have placed 20 or more mines in and around the strait, some floated remotely using GPS technology which makes them harder to detect, according to the report.
“A six-month closure of the Strait of Hormuz is an impossibility and completely unacceptable to the Secretary,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement shared with AFP denying the report.
Parnell said the Post report was based on a “classified, closed briefing” but much of the information was “false.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have warned of a “danger zone” covering 1,400 square kilometres -– 14 times the size of Paris –- where mines may be present.
Source: Insider Paper
