Operation Epic Fury Day 12: Iran Mines Hormuz, Gulf Refineries Under Siege, Trump Warns of ‘Death, Fire, and Fury’
The U.S. military responded by destroying 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait on March 10, according to CENTCOM.
MIDDLE EAST / INDIAN OCEAN — Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most critical oil transit choke-point carrying approximately 20% of global crude supply, according to U.S. intelligence reporting.
The U.S. military responded by destroying 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels near the strait on March 10, according to CENTCOM.
The mine-laying campaign comes as Iranian retaliatory strikes have forced the shutdown of major energy infrastructure across the Gulf: Bahrain’s Bapco Sitra refinery (405,000 barrels per day) declared force majeure on March 9 after a drone attack, the UAE’s Ruwais refinery (922,000 bpd) was shut on March 10 following a drone-caused fire, and Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery (550,000 bpd) and Qatar’s LNG production facilities were halted earlier in the conflict.
President Trump responded to the mine-laying reports with a warning that the U.S. would hit Iran “twenty times harder” and that “death, fire, and fury will reign upon them” if Iran blocked oil flow through the strait.
In the same period, Trump gave conflicting signals, telling reporters the war was “very complete, pretty much” and ending “very soon,” while separately telling House Republicans “we haven’t won enough.”
The IRGC rejected Trump’s timeline, with spokesperson Ali Mohammad Naini stating “it is we who will determine the end of the war.”
The Pentagon disclosed on March 10 that approximately 140 U.S. service members have been wounded since the start of Operation Epic Fury, with eight severely injured and 108 having returned to duty. This figure is significantly higher than the 18 previously reported.
