Mines in Strait of Hormuz

US Officials: Iran Laying Mines in Strait of Hormuz

Iran has begun laying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical Persian Gulf channel that carries about 20% of the world's oil, according to U.S. officials, raising concerns about global shipping and energy supplies.

U.S. intelligence indicates Iran started deploying the mines Thursday using small boats after the U.S. military destroyed larger Iranian naval vessels capable of quickly laying mines in the narrow waterway, a U.S. official briefed on the intelligence said, according to The New York Times on Friday.

In his first public remarks since the war began, Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said in a written statement Thursday (no one knows whether he's alive or dead) that "the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used."

U.S. officials said the latest mining effort is slower and less efficient than using larger vessels, but Iran appears to be attempting to lay mines faster than U.S. forces can clear them, in hopes of deterring ships from entering the strait.

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And Democrats are bitching and moaning that the price of gas has risen.