After pressing allies for support – and being rebuffed – US president Donald Trump now insists that the United States can reopen the Strait of Hormuz alone. However, this would focus the risk on US forces and stretch limited naval resources.

Some 20% of global oil flows ordinarily passing through Hormuz; closure of the strait has caused oil prices to soar. British prime minister Keir Starmer has refused to let the UK be drawn into a wider war in the Middle East. However, he has said he is “looking through the options” on helping secure the strait for shipping.

The UK military has already stated that it is considering sending two drone types to the strait of Hormuz: interceptors, to counter Iranian drones, and mine-hunters. These could help ensure the security of shipping in the region, but their task will not be straightforward.

Iran is believed to have around 6,000 sea mines, ranging from simple contact types like the Maham-1 – anchored in place and triggered on impact – to more advanced systems such as the Chinese-designed EM-52, which sit on the seabed and fire a rocket at ships with specific acoustic or magnetic signatures.

So far, only a handful of mines are understood to have been deployed, often covertly at night or using traditional sailing ships to evade detection.

Divers are also used, in the case of limpet mines, to manually attach these devices to a ship’s hull and detonate them remotely. Even limited mining efforts deter commercial shipping, as crews, insurers and operators refuse to risk transit.

The mine threat is only one layer. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has built a broader anti-access system: fast........

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