United States Navy, Clearing Hormuz of Mines, Scores a Success That’s No Match for Iranian Propaganda

The United States Navy is notching a major win against Iran by clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines. Yet while every allegation from Tehran is trumpeted, American military successes are ignored — offering a lifeline to a regime that seeks to win in the court of world opinion what it cannot hope to achieve on the battlefield.On Monday, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, announced his country would enforce a “new restriction zone” that “will start from the U.S. Navy’s blockade line” in the Persian Gulf. “Any ship entering this new zone,” he said, “will be placed on the sanctions list.”The post was enough to spook markets and drive oil above $101 a barrel. Threatening “sanctions,” though, is a far cry from the threats that have characterized Iran’s rhetoric on the Strait. Plus, drawing the zone outside the U.S. Navy’s area of control is an acknowledgement that America controls the waterway and cannot be dislodged.While Iran blustered, Navy SEALs and divers — supported by the United States Air Force, Army, and Marines — were at work, refuting reports that America had no mine-sweeping capabilities. “The circumstances were challenging and dangerous,” the leader of America’s Central Command, Admiral Charles “Brad” Cooper, said on August 29, “but we got the job done.”Admiral Cooper said in the video on X that “international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building.” While pre-war traffic hasn’t been restored, “no ships have entered or left an Iranian port without our permission,” and they have “only allowed” passage “on humanitarian grounds.”Analysts have long warned that Iran would “close” the Strait if America moved against their nuclear program. Confirmation bias has framed every occurrence since through this lens, with the conflict being called everything from a “stalemate” to a “quagmire.” Meanwhile, Iran’s rial plummets, protests erupt, and gasoline runs short with little attention paid.“Donald Trump has lost this war,” Senator Christopher Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said a month ago. “America is weaker. Iran is stronger.” He cited a “supposed deal” to keep the strait open that would cost Americans “$100 billion a year.” In June, the Democratic strategist, James Carville, said, “Happy 250th, America. You just lost a war.”The disconnect between headlines and reality results from Iran’s boasts about imaginary accomplishments. As this columnist wrote in The New York Sun on Monday, allegations that United States Ship Abraham Lincoln’s condition demonstrated American failure. The Times of India credited the routine corrosion to “Iran’s alleged ‘Rustsheed’ missile.”On Tuesday, the IRGC crowed that it had “trapped” a cutting-edge American “submarine.” A senior fellow at the Washington Institute, Farzin Nadimi, told Reuters that Iran would “make better versions” by reverse engineering, as if they’d know more than the drone’s makers. In any case, Central Command reported that it was only an older model that malfunctioned.After America sank five Iranian tankers on Tuesday, again more attention was paid to the IRGC’s version of events. They announced that their missiles had hit two warships and a Jordanian military base. Central Command posted on X that ships had “evaded” and “no American personnel were harmed.” Thanks to interceptors, none of the missiles hit their marks in Jordan.Even the daring rescue of a downed American airman in April was spun as having cost too much. Some questioned why the pilot was identified only by his call sign: Dude 44 Bravo. That he was recovering from injuries and the military keeps names under wraps didn’t halt the conspiracy theories.Iran escapes scrutiny despite several false assertions about sinking USS Lincoln alone. Missives by its supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, are reported as genuine although he has yet to give proof of life. There is always the possibility that America is playing loose with the facts, too. Yet no fabrications have been uncovered.Clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines ought to reassure oil markets and tankers that transit is growing safer by the day. Instead, Iran’s versions of events are accepted at face value, allowing them to muddy the waters of reality and denying America’s military personnel the praise they deserve for jobs well done.

United States Navy, Clearing Hormuz of Mines, Scores a Success That’s No Match for Iranian Propaganda

United States Navy, Clearing Hormuz of Mines, Scores a Success That’s No Match for Iranian Propaganda

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