US says not talking to Iran as Hormuz diplomacy intensifies

Iran and Oman have outlined a proposal to jointly establish a temporary shipping channel and to clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement follows US President Donald Trump’s remark that all mines have been detonated or removed.

This raises questions about the difficulties of clearing the waterway of explosives.

Experts say Iran has some demining capability, but they question whether it is sophisticated enough to clear the strait.

Is it possible to demine without Iranian cooperation?

“Iran has some demining capabilities, but most of its mine warfare capacity is designed for laying mines,” Nitya Labh, a Chatham House Schwarzman Academy fellow, told CNN.

Labh said Iran lacks the ability to sweep the ocean meter by meter at varying depths and questioned whether Tehran could be trusted to carry out such an operation.

Paul Heslop, a senior UN mine action expert, said any demining effort would require highly specialized sensors and trained crews, making it an expensive and complex operation. He added that Iranian cooperation remains critical.

Information like the locations of the mines is crucial to help navies predict where the mines may be, their depth and whether they are secured, Heslop said.

“Unless the Iranians provide that information to other countries, then they won’t have the same advantages,” he said.

Labh added that political commitments like those in the June memorandum of understanding cannot guarantee the strait’s reopening.

“Declarations of a reopening alone cannot remove the hazards of sea mines nor restore market confidence within the shipping and insurance industries,” she said.