BREAKING: President Trump Responds as Iran Reportedly Starts Mining the Strait of Hormuz

The strategic Strait of Hormuz is always destined to be part of the game play anytime Iran is part of the story.

Sure enough, there is reporting at the moment from various media sources that WHOEVER is actually calling the shots in Iran has started placing anti-ship mines in the Strait.

As we’ll get to, both CNN and CBS have issued similar (yet slightly different) versions of that reporting.

I’m always dubious of the “anonymous officials” used as sources — so we’ll take their reporting with a grain of salt.

But the President has verbally and militarily responded to those reports.

So I’m bringing you the situation as it appears, with possibly skewed mainstream reporting notwithstanding.

Oddly enough, this comes on the heels of a volatile oil market as a result of the fighting in and around Iran.

The price of which had actually dropped considerably in the last day or so in terms of price per barrel, likely thanks to President Trump’s efforts to maintain the waterway and offer discounted insurance to shippers.

This also comes after President Trump’s very specific remarks YESTERDAY via Truth Social warning Iran outright against any moves intended to halt the flow of oil through the Strait.

Here’s what the President outlined yesterday in that post, in case you missed it:

Here’s the full text of that warning from President Trump in case that screen shot isn’t legible:

If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen! This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait. Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP

CNN was the first to officially report that the Iranians were mining the Strait of Hormuz today, as far as I can tell.

They initially ran a report indicating that mines may have been placed for several days now.

Here’s that video report from CNN:

BREAKING: After reports emerged that Iran was actively laying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump announced the U.S. military has destroyed 10 “inactive” Iranian mine-laying vessels in targeted strikes.

Trump wrote on Truth Social: “I am pleased to report that… pic.twitter.com/wopWayjflG

— RedWave Press (@RedWavePress) March 10, 2026

As you heard, CNN also noted that President Trump had almost immediate responded to those reports of mines in the Strait.

And if that CNN video report sounded somewhat iffy, their reporting became much more committed to the line that “Iran has begun laying mines” once they ran with a print version of that story.

Here’s that subsequent print story, including a mention of President Trump’s initial response as alluded to in the previous breaking news report, according to CNN:

Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.

The mining is not extensive yet, with a few dozen having been laid in recent days, the sources said. But Iran still retains upward of 80% to 90% of its small boats and mine layers, one of the sources said, so its forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in the waterway.

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President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that “if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”

Trump also said during a Monday press conference that “the Strait of Hormuz is going to remain safe. We have a lot of Navy ships there. We have the best equipment in the world inspecting for mines.”

Uncertainty surrounding the ability to move oil through the waterway appeared to be causing severe volatility on the crude oil market on Tuesday, with the price per barrel fluctuating between more than $90 and less than $80 in a series of peaks and valleys.

As I highlighted in bold, CNN’s primary sourcing on this story seems to be those same covert unnamed officials who know everything about everything.

But of course they are very unwilling to put their name next to their supposed inside information.

Again, I take those anonymous sources with a grain of salt — particularly since oil had dropped just hours before this news broke.

Sketchy timing?  Without a doubt.

That said, I don’t have anything tangible that would cast this CNN report (or the CBS report I’ll show you in a moment) in doubt — except my preexisting doubts about CNN and CBS.

And the fact that no one would go on record with either of them on this issue.

At any rate, the Trump Administration wasted no time responding to even the possibility that Iran might actually be mining the Stait.

President Trump quickly issued another statement via Truth Social after the initial reporting by CNN:

Here’s the full text of his statement just after 3:00 pm this afternoon.

Notice that the President used the word “if” regarding possible mine placement by Iran:

If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY! If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before. If, on the other hand, they remove what may have been placed, it will be a giant step in the right direction! Additionally, we are using the same Technology and Missile capabilities deployed against Drug Traffickers to permanently eliminate any boat or ship attempting to mine the Hormuz Strait. They will be dealt with quickly and violently. BEWARE! President DONALD J. TRUMP

And within less than 20 minutes of that social media post, the President responded with an update that read as follows:

I am pleased to report that within the last few hours, we have hit, and completely destroyed, 10 inactive mine laying boats and/or ships, with more to follow! President DONALD J. TRUMP

Still no confirmation from the Administration that Iran was indeed mining the Strait.

But it appears President Trump wasn’t in a mood to give them an opportunity, just in case!

The senior White House correspondent for CBS News then shared this tidbit, indicating the mining was indeed happening — again, per unnamed sources.

But she referenced another detail that would make it’s way into a later CBS report.

According to her post on X.com and the subsequent CBS News report, Iran is using “smaller craft” than usual to deploy the mines in an apparent attempt to remain under the radar of the U.S. military.

Here’s what she shared:

NEWS via @CBSNews: U.S. intelligence assets have begun to see indications Iran is taking steps to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Iran is using smaller crafts that can carry 2 to 3 mines each. While Iran’s mine stock isn’t publicly known, estimates over the years…

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) March 10, 2026

Here’s the full text of her post for convenience:

NEWS via @CBSNews: U.S. intelligence assets have begun to see indications Iran is taking steps to deploy mines in Strait of Hormuz shipping lane. Iran is using smaller crafts that can carry 2 to 3 mines each. While Iran’s mine stock isn’t publicly known, estimates over the years have ranged from roughly 2,000 to 6,000 naval mines of Iranian, Chinese and Russian-made variants @JimLaPorta reports

The subsequent reporting by CBS again relied on those unnamed “American officials”.

But one important distinction I want to highlight compared to the earlier CNN reporting is that while CBS does say Iran “is” laying mines…

They also report that Iran “may be getting ready” to mine the Strait.

That’s an awful lot of ambiguity (straight up contradiction???) in one news story.

But then again, we are talking about CNN and CBS, respectively.

Again, with a grain of salt, here’s that report on potential mines in the Strait of Hormuz —

Including details from this morning’s Pentagon briefing on this very issue from General ‘Raising’ Caine, as being reported by CBS News:

Iran may be getting ready to deploy naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to further disrupt the key shipping lane, U.S. officials told CBS News.

The American officials said Iran is using smaller crafts that can carry two to three mines each to lay them into the strait. While Iran’s mine stock isn’t publicly known, estimates over the years have ranged from roughly 2,000 to 6,000 naval mines largely produced by Iran, China or Russia. The officials spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly to the press.

In a press conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday morning, Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations against Iran, continues to hunt and strike “mine-laying vessels” and “mine storage facilities.”

At the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. Oil tankers carrying crude from countries including Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates must pass through the narrow waterway to reach global markets, making the strait essential to the steady flow of energy, with 20% of the global oil supply passing through the strait.

Even small disruptions in the strait can have a ripple effect on oil prices and the global economy.

At about the same time that President Trump responded to the reports via Truth Social…

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was responding to the issue from the podium in the press briefing room.

In her normal forthright fashion, she reiterated President Trump’s warning from the day before.

But she also framed the situation — and the potential impact of the Strait of Hormuz being shut down by Iranian mines — in terms of holding the world hostage.

Here’s that clip from earlier at the White House:

As I head to press with this story, more mainstream sources are reporting along the same lines as CNN and CBS.

But a quick fact check reveals no confirmation that Iran is actually mining the Strait of Hormuz, other than those “anonymous” sources.

As of this moment, no one in the Administration or at the Pentagon has gone on record stating that Iran is definitively mining the Strait.

Considering that it would not be outside Iran’s history to do so, it seems President Trump is not willing to play a “wait and see” game with Iranian mining vessels.

It only took President Trump a few minutes to get an update that the U.S. military had in fact destroyed a good number of mine laying ships in the hours prior to today’s reporting by CBS and CNN.

Which I take to mean the U.S. military is being very proactive and hyper-vigilant in trying to maintain that waterway.

This is without a doubt a developing story, and will probably remain so for the duration of military strikes against Iran.

We’ll keep you updated with the current developments — as well as the mainstream slant, when it seems necessary and prudent to do so — as the situation continues to play out.

What’s your assessment?