Iran has laid a small number of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the critical oil delivery waterway that is at the heart of peace talks between Washington and Tehran, an anonymously-sourced report claims. An alleged U.S. intelligence assessment says there are around one dozen Iranian mines in the Strait of Hormuz, CBS News has claimed. If true, the sea mine allegation would weigh on the apparently developing peace talks between Washington and Tehran, given the United States’ demands that the Strait of Hormuz be opened for global oil traffic.
The report, which relies purely on the assertions of unnamed “U.S. officials”, states one of these officials told the broadcaster “there are at least a dozen underwater mines”, while a second said there were fewer than a dozen. It was claimed Tehran had laid “Iranian-manufactured Maham 3 and Maham 7” type mines, apparently erroneously referring to them as “limpet” mines, which, according to available information about the weapons and their capabilities, states they are not. The Maham 3, for instance, is a conventional moored influence mine. This means when deployed, the buoyant explosive body is tethered to the sea floor by a chain and base, keeping it just below the surface.
Unlike the earliest generations of mines, influence mines do not require physical contact with a ship to detonate; instead, they read the sea around them by interpreting a mixture of acoustic waves and magnetic fields to determine when to explode. (Read More)
