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Source: https://www.axios.com/2026/08/28/trump-iran-hormuz-war-oil
U.S. Gains in Battle for Hormuz
(Axios) Barak Ravid - Over the past two months, U.S. officials say the American military has steadily eroded Iran's leverage over the Strait of Hormuz. After the June 17 U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding fell apart, the military worked to reopen the strait unilaterally. Together with the UAE, a U.S. military task force started guiding ships through the southern channel of the strait while giving them air cover and intercepting Iranian drone and cruise missile attacks. A two-week U.S. bombing campaign significantly undercut the IRGC's capacity to attack ships crossing the strait. Iran is still firing at ships but its ability to target them accurately is limited. Only 2% of the ships that transited through the strait over the last month were hit, a U.S. official said. In recent weeks, traffic through the southern channel has grown to 20 to 30 tankers every night, carrying an average of 9 to 10 million barrels - roughly half the pre-war volume. More than 200 mine-like objects have been swept from the main lane of the strait in an operation involving Navy divers, Navy SEALs, underwater and surface drones, and private contractors. U.S. officials say only 11 of the objects were actual mines and just a few were properly deployed.