US sinks Iranian small boats, shoots down missiles, drones as it opens Strait

The US operation to unblock the Strait of Hormuz involved multiple steps, including first clearing a pathway of Iranian mines. The US then proved the safety of the route earlier on Monday by sending two US flagged commercial ships through the strait.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said no commercial vessels had crossed the strait in the past few hours, and that US claims to the contrary were false. Iranian state media also denied reports that the US had sunk Iranian vessels.

Cooper said the US operation went beyond a traditional escorting mission. Instead, he said it was a larger, multi-layered defensive arrangement that included ships, helicopters, aircraft and even electronic warfare to defend against Iranian threats.

He said the Iranian fast boats were sunk by US Apache and Seahawk helicopters.

“If you’re escorting a ship, you’re playing kind of one on one. I think we have a much better defensive arrangement in this process,” he said. “We have a much broader defensive package than you would have ever if you were just escorting.”

The operation is Trump’s latest effort to force an end to the disruption of international energy supplies caused by Iran’s blockade of the strait, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.

Cooper said the US military was encouraging vessels to travel through the passageway despite Iranian threats to use military force that have effectively left craft from 87 countries stranded in the Gulf.

“Over the last 12 hours, we’ve reached out to dozens of ships and shipping companies to encourage traffic flow through the strait,” Cooper said.

“This news has been quite enthusiastically received, and we’re already beginning to see movement.”

Cooper said a US blockade of Iran, which prevents ships from going to Iran or departing Iranian territory, also remained in effect and was exceeding expectations.