World 1,253 views on YouTube
Strait of Hormuz: 4½ Months to Clear, Two Days to Reload
On Friday 28 August, Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, released a video address saying the Strait of Hormuz's internationally recognised transit routes were free of Iranian sea mines. "The circumstances were challenging and dangerous, to say the least, but we got the job done." The clearance had taken four and a half months, led by Navy divers and Navy SEALs with air power from all four services. Iran began laying the mines in early April.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says the strike killed and wounded several of its fighters and civilians, and gave no figure. It answered with missiles and drones against two bases hosting US forces in Jordan. Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles that entered Jordanian airspace.
Read Friday's announcement closely and it claimed the two main transit routes, not the whole strait. Cooper never said how many mines were removed. Britain's UKMTO still charts a mined area, and Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi said only Iran knows where they are.
No US casualties were reported in the 30-31 August exchange. Earlier reporting of American deaths at Jordanian bases refers to a separate attack in July.
The reporting
Slug larak-2026-08-31 · built 2026-08-31 · RECORDx short Series: Iran #4. Spine: iran-2026-08-19 (Hormuz shipping collapse) → iran-outcast-2026-08-24 (economic D-Day sanctions) → iran-market-2026-08-26 (the oil market's verdict) → this one: the war goes kinetic again.
The claim (one)
On Friday the commander of US Central Command announced the Strait of Hormuz had been cleared of Iranian sea mines. On Sunday the US bombed two launchers on Larak Island that were loading rockets to put the mines back. Two days.
The angle
Every outlet led with "US strikes Iran — first attack in a month." The fact under it is in CENTCOM's own two statements, 48 hours apart: what the launchers were loading was sea mines, and CENTCOM had just finished clearing sea mines out of the strait. The strike was not the opening of something. It was the defence of a two-day-old cleanup. The front line of this war is a shipping lane that has to be swept, and swept again.
How this was verified — the rest of the fact sheet
OPEN / NOT ESTABLISHED
- Number of mines cleared: not published.
- Whether any mines were re-laid before the strike: unknown.
- Independent confirmation of damage at either Jordan base: none.
- Iranian casualty toll: none given.
VERIFIED FACTS
The Friday statement — 28 Aug 2026
Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander, US Central Command, in a CENTCOM social media post early Friday:
"Internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait are free of Iranian sea mines, thanks to the incredible work of the US military."
On the Traffic Separation Scheme — the long-standing international lanes:
"our forces meticulously and quietly cleared them of sea mine threats."
"The circumstances were challenging and dangerous, to say the least, but we got the job done. Bottom line today: International shipping lanes are open and momentum is building."
- Mines had been laid months earlier by the IRGC.
- Clearing involved Navy divers, Navy SEALs, and aircraft from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.
- US forces have given coordinated protection to nearly 1,500 commercial vessels transiting the waterway; ~750 million barrels of crude moved in recent months.
- Shipping traffic on Thursday 27 Aug still slipped below the 10-day average. Sources: Arab News (28 Aug 07:01, updated 07:21), UPI, The Hill, Washington Times, Deseret, IranWire — all 28 Aug.
The Sunday strike — 30 Aug 2026
Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, US Central Command spokesperson, in a statement (confirmed to MS NOW):
"Earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz."
"Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait's international shipping routes. U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway."
- Two launchers. Rockets carrying sea mines, aimed into the strait.
- First publicly acknowledged US strike on Iranian positions since late July (AP). ABC News (AU): last known strike 29 July, in response to "an attempted surprise attack on US forces."
- The war is in its sixth month.
- Larak is a small Iranian island in the strait, used by the Revolutionary Guards as a military and shipping-control point to monitor vessel traffic. Sources: CNBC (30 Aug 17:32 EDT), CENTCOM via MS NOW, Reuters, AP, BBC World, Al Jazeera, ABC (AU), Washington Post, The Hill, Al Arabiya.
Iran's answer — 30–31 Aug 2026
- IRGC claim (attribute, do not state as fact): the Larak attack "killed and wounded several Iranian fighters and civilians" — via state broadcaster IRIB. No precise toll was given. Vowed to "respond and punish."
- Jordan's Armed Forces (the counter-fact): they intercepted eight missiles that entered Jordanian airspace on Monday, with no immediate reports of injuries or damage. Jerusalem Post reports "nearly all" were intercepted by US air defences; a US official told Fox most were intercepted. Sources: CNBC, ABC (AU), Haaretz live, Gulf News, Jerusalem Post, Israel National News, Al Jazeera liveblog.
The strait itself
- US Navy maintains a blockade of Iranian ports, to pressure Tehran into reopening the waterway.
- Iran continues to attack vessels that do not use the northern lane close to its own coast. A tanker was hit by an unknown projectile on Saturday 29 Aug, inbound in the southern lane along the Omani coast — reported by UKMTO, no casualties.
- Trump extended his threats to Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export terminal, saying it is "going to be blown to smithereens!", and restated a "zero tolerance" policy on mines in the strait. Sources: CNBC, UKMTO via CNBC.
Footage
Every clip in the reel, and where it came from.
- **U.S. Central Command** (official channel) **20260828**
- window shows
- 119.5–123.4 bulk carrier, golden hour, aerial
- 123.7–127.7 single vessel on open blue water
- 42.6–45.3 laden tanker, aerial, sunlit
- 146.2–148.9 officer with binoculars on a bridge wing
- 150.9–152.5 tanker seen past a mounted gun on a warship deck
- 115.8–119.3 helicopter alongside a cargo ship
- 112.3–115.8 fighter over water
- 91.3–92.5 **Navy diver being suited up** (yellow helmet, tenders)
- 9.5–11.3 helicopter cockpit, crew
- 157.3–159.9 sailor at a workstation
References
Reporting drawn from CENTCOM · Reuters · AP · BBC · Al Jazeera · CNBC · Arab News · Task & Purpose · The Hill · ABC (AU) · Haaretz · Jerusalem Post · Trump has threatened it since · Task &
What the reel says
Narration as scripted and voiced.
The circumstances were challenging and dangerous to say the least, but we got the job done. Bottom line, today, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building.
On Friday, United States Central Command released a video address about the Strait of Hormuz. Admiral Brad Cooper said the internationally recognized transit routes were now free of Iranian sea mines. His words were, we got the job done.
That job took four and a half months. Iran began laying the mines in early April. Clearing them fell to Navy divers and Navy SEALs, working, in Cooper's phrase, meticulously and quietly, under aircraft from all four services.
Two days later, on Sunday, American forces bombed two launchers on a small Iranian island called Larak, inside the strait. Central Command said Revolutionary Guard crews had been seen preparing to fire rockets, and that the rockets were carrying sea mines.
Four and a half months to clear the routes, two days before somebody was loading them back in. That is what this war has become. A shipping lane that has to be swept and then swept again.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard says the strike killed and wounded several of its fighters and civilians, and it gave no numbers. It answered with missiles and drones against two American bases in Jordan. Jordan's armed forces said they intercepted eight missiles.
And read Friday's announcement closely. Cooper claimed the two main transit routes, not the whole strait. He never said how many mines were pulled out. Britain's Maritime Trade Office still charts a mined area. And Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister says only Iran knows where they are.
Like, share, subscribe, and keep watching.
All footage: U.S. Central Command, 28 August 2026 (public domain).
