"Iran has extensive tunnel networks to protect and launch such vessels surreptitiously, including midget submarines and other submersibles useful for mine laying."

The U.S. Navy says the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Vessels would be sitting ducks if foreign naval forces attempted to reopen the waterway before a cessation of hostilities, experts say.

A Strait of Hormuz closure due to U.S.-Iran war hit the oil market hard, but sectors reliant on shipping across economy from metals to farming are vulnerable.

In December 2025, the U.S. seized a sanctioned tanker flying the flag of Guyana, where it wasn't registered. The vessel was, in legal terms, stateless.

But some vessels are still transiting the strait. Most of the ships still moving are those that operate outside the rules.

Explore the timeline of recent ship attacks in the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating U.S.-Israeli tensions with Iran.

Energy prices have soared as Iranian strikes and reports of mines prevent ships from transiting the chokepoint

"Iran has extensive tunnel networks to protect and launch such vessels surreptitiously, including midget submarines and other submersibles useful for mine laying."

Top Pentagon officials on Friday pledged to combat Iran's efforts to turn the Strait of Hormuz into a dangerous choke point for global shipping.

"Responding to coastal launch sites as they emerge would require coordinated strike operations ashore and perhaps marines — the latter a clear escalation risk."