To avoid risk of mines, Navy directs ships on path farther from Iran

Politics To avoid risk of mines, Navy directs ships on path farther from Iran in Strait of Hormuz By Eleanor Watson, Eleanor Watson CBS News Reporter Eleanor Watson is a CBS News multi-platform reporter and producer covering the Pentagon. Read Full Bio Eleanor Watson, James LaPorta James LaPorta National security coordinating producer James LaPorta is the national security coordinating producer for the CBS News' Washington bureau. He is a former U.S. Marine veteran infantryman and veteran of the Afghanistan war. Read Full Bio James LaPorta May 5, 2026 / 6:00 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington —  The U.S. military is directing commercial ships towards a route in the Strait of Hormuz farther from Iran that the Navy has spent weeks clearing. The U.S. warns that transiting the normal route could be "extremely hazardous" because of mines laid in the strait by Iran. The notice to mariners posted the same day the U.S. began its latest effort, "Project Freedom," to reopen at least part of the Strait of Hormuz. As part of the operation, forces under U.S. Central Command will coordinate with commercial ships to guide them through a cleared path in the strait.At a briefing Tuesday, the Pentagon displayed a graphic saying Iran had laid new mines in the Strait of Hormuz on April 23. In March, CBS News reported there were about a dozen Iranian mines in the strait. That same month, the Pentagon tasked MQ-9 Reaper drones with conducting mine sweeper support throughout the critical waterway.  Cargo ships, including bulk carriers and general cargo vessels, sit at anchor offshore as a small motorboat passes in the foreground, in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, May 4 , 2026. Amirhosein Khorgooi / AP The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, the Defense Department's arm for collecting and analyzing satellite imagery and geospatial data, has also been tapped for mine hunting duties, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to CBS New...