Chart shows Iran may have put sea mines in Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard may have put sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz during the war, a chart published by semi-official news agencies in the country on Thursday suggested.

The message may be intended to pressure the United States as uncertainty hangs over a days-old two-week ceasefire and further negotiations are set to begin in Pakistan.

The charts were released by the ISNA news agency, as well as Tasnim, which is believed to be close to the Guard, and showed a large circle marked “danger zone” in Farsi over the Traffic Separation Scheme, which was the route ships used to take through the strait – a narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20% of all oil and natural gas traded once passed.

The chart suggested ships travel further north through waters closer to Iran’s mainland near Larak Island, a route that some ships were observed taking during the war.

The charts were dated from February 28 until Thursday April 9, and it was unclear if the Guard had cleared any mining on the route since then.

Oil rose again to above 97 US dollars a barrel and Asian stocks were trading lower on Thursday on scepticism over the ceasefire.

Brent crude, the international standard, was up 2.9% to 97.46 dollars per barrel.

It had fallen briefly to below 92 dollars following the temporary ceasefire announcement.

Benchmark US crude was 3.7% higher on Thursday at 97.94 dollars per barrel.

Ship-tracking data from Kpler showed that only four vessels with their automatic identification system (AIS) trackers on passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, the first day of the ceasefire.

However, that does not include so-called dark fleet vessels, which travel with their AIS trackers turned off.

Many of those dark fleet ships carry sanctioned Iranian crude oil out to the open market.

US President Donald Trump posted a statement insisting that his surge of warships and troops will remain around Iran “until such time as the REAL AGREEMENT reached is fully complied with”.

Mr Trump’s comments on his Truth Social platform appeared to be a way to pressure Iran.

“If for any reason it is not, which is highly unlikely, then the ‘Shootin’ Starts,’ bigger, and better, and stronger than anyone has ever seen before,” Mr Trump wrote.

He also insisted Iran would not be able to build nuclear weapons and “the Strait of Hormuz WILL BE OPEN & SAFE”.

The US and Iran both claimed victory after reaching the ceasefire agreement, and world leaders expressed relief. But more drones and missiles hit Iran and Gulf Arab countries after the deal was announced.

At the same time, Israel intensified its attacks on the Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, hitting commercial and residential areas in Beirut.

At least 182 people were killed on Wednesday in the deadliest day of fighting there.

The violence threatened to scuttle what US vice president JD Vance called a “fragile” deal.

Iran’s parliament speaker said on Wednesday that planned talks were “unreasonable” because Washington had broken three of Tehran’s 10 conditions for an end to the fighting.

In a social media post, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf objected to Israeli attacks on Hezbollah, an alleged drone incursion into Iranian airspace after the ceasefire took effect and US refusal to accept any Iranian enrichment capabilities in a final agreement.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that an end to the war in Lebanon was part of the ceasefire deal, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mr Trump said the truce did not cover Lebanon.

When the deal was announced, the prime minister of Pakistan, who served as a mediator, said in a social media post that it applied to “everywhere, including Lebanon and elsewhere”.

A New York-based think tank warned the ceasefire “hovers on the verge of collapse”.

The Soufan Centre said Israel’s strikes on Lebanon on Wednesday added to the risk the deal would fall apart.

“Even if Lebanon was formally outside the deal, the scale of Israel’s strikes was likely to be viewed as escalatory, nonetheless,” it wrote in an analysis published on Thursday.

“Israel’s strikes can be understood both as an effort to drive a wedge between Iran and its proxies and as a response to being allegedly sidelined in the original ceasefire discussions.”

The White House said Mr Vance would lead the US delegation to talks in Islamabad aimed at ending the war, which are set to start on Saturday.

Iran’s negotiating team will arrive in Islamabad on Thursday night, the Iranian ambassador there said.

Reza Amiri Moghadam wrote on X that the “Iranian delegation arrives tonight in Islamabad for serious talks based on 10 points proposed by Iran”, without identifying who was on the Iranian team.

Those points include Iran enriching uranium, maintaining its control of the Strait of Hormuz and other issues that have been non-starters in the past for Mr Trump.

The White House has repeatedly described the 10 points issued by Iran as false.

Mr Moghadam wrote that the Iranians would come to Islamabad despite “scepticism of Iranian public opinion due to repeated ceasefire violations by Israeli regime to sabotage the diplomatic initiative”, likely referring to Israel’s strikes on Lebanon, which Israel and the US have said was not included in the shaky ceasefire.