Sources: Clearing Mines From Strait Could Take 6 Months

US lawmakers just got a sobering estimate on one of the war's most sensitive choke points: Fully clearing Iranian sea mines from the Strait of Hormuz could take up to six months—and likely wouldn't begin until after the conflict ends, according to a classified Pentagon briefing described to the Washington Post. That lag could keep oil and gasoline prices elevated well beyond any peace deal, even as the White House faces midterm voters already unhappy with President Trump's decision to go to war with Iran and the spike in prices that followed. Average US gas is now $4.02 a gallon, up from $2.98 prewar.

Three officials said lawmakers were told Iran may have laid 20 or more mines, some deployed remotely with GPS, complicating detection in a waterway that normally carries about a fifth of the world's oil. The Pentagon publicly blasted the reported six-month estimate as "inaccurate" and accused the Post of pushing "false claims," while declining specifics. The assessment also appears at odds with Trump's Friday social-media assertion that Iran, "with the help of the USA," has already removed or is removing all mines. Even a partially blocked strait, experts say, could deter shippers and rattle energy markets for months.