❗️US CENTCOM commander claims Strait of Hormuz clear of mines despite IRGC naval strikes The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, claimed that primary internationally recognized shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz are completely free of Iranian sea mines and that commercial maritime traffic is transiting without hindrance. In a video message published by CENTCOM following an inspection flight over the strategic waterway, Cooper claimed that US forces had eliminated Iranian naval capabilities in the area, asserting that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy is "all at the bottom of the sea" while committing ongoing US naval assets to maintain clearance across primary transit corridors. These claims directly contradict operational realities on the ground, coming just hours after the IRGC Navy published video footage documenting two commercial oil tankers set ablaze and disabled in the eastern and western sectors of the strait. Iranian naval commanders confirmed that the violating vessels were intercepted in the southern waters of the choke point after disabling their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) to navigate unauthorized routes under direct US military escort. IRGC units successfully breached the US security perimeter using fast-attack craft to deploy tactical limpet mines directly onto the hulls of both tankers, forcing them to ground.