According to a report by Fox News, on Thursday April 23, 2026, While US forces continue to enforce a blockade in the strait, having directed 31 vessels to turn around or return to port, the challenge of clearing these underwater hazards remains a primary concern.
Speaking on the nature of these operations, Marine veteran Alex Martin emphasized the scale of the task:
“It’s a very difficult mission that they’re undertaking. We fortunately have an incredible, the greatest navy in the history of human warfare. Undersea applications, subsurface, above surface applications wildly complex mission. Luckily, they’re the most sophisticated to do so with our explosive ordnance disposal teams and all the surface warriors”
Martin noted that this mission must be viewed within the larger framework of the ongoing conflict:
“It’s not easy, but it should be mentioned that this is against the backdrop of having destroyed Iran’s air advantage entirely, having decapitated their leadership, having taken them out of the game with anything ballistic, having set back their nuclear program decades, and now this blockade, which is a stunning example of our naval supremacy, is choking them to the tune of 400 to $450 million per day. This has to be all taken into context of broadly what’s happening in this stunning campaign”