US intelligence sources have claimed that Iran had prepared to deploy naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz last month following Israeli airstrikes.
While Iran did not ultimately lay the mines, US intelligence reports suggest that naval mines were loaded onto Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf during the same period.
According to sources, it remains unclear whether the mines were later offloaded or remained aboard the ships. The information was gathered through satellite imagery and other classified intelligence methods.
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Despite heightened tensions in the Gulf region, global oil prices have dropped by 10 percent.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most critical oil transit chokepoints, with nearly 21 million barrels of crude oil passing through daily from countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Iran.