00:21Oman's maritime security center has just issued an urgent warning to all vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.
00:28A floating object, suspected to be a naval mine, has been spotted west of the inshore traffic zone, within Omani
00:37territorial waters.
00:39This is not a drill. This is happening right now.
00:43Here's the exact warning from Oman's MSC.
00:46A floating object, suspected to be a naval mine, has been reported west of the inshore traffic zone in the
00:53Strait of Hormuz, within Omani territorial waters.
00:57All vessels are urged to exercise utmost caution, monitor VHF Channel 16, and stay vigilant.
01:06That's the international distress frequency. They're not asking ships to be careful, they're telling them to be ready.
01:13To understand why this is terrifying, you need one number.
01:1820% of the world's oil transits this strait, at its narrowest point, just 21 miles wide.
01:26There is no detour, no bypass.
01:29If the Strait of Hormuz closes, oil prices don't spike, they explode.
01:35And now there's a suspected mine floating in it.
01:38This didn't come out of nowhere.
01:41Here's the timeline that got us here.
01:43Earlier in 2026, amid escalating U.S.-Iran tensions,
01:48U.S. forces struck and claimed to destroy roughly 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels before they could deploy.
01:57CENTCOM released the footage, boats hit by missiles in the strait.
02:01But by mid-May, U.S. intelligence had identified at least 10 Iranian-manufactured mines in the strait,
02:08including Maham-3 moored mines and Maham-7 limpet mines.
02:13These use magnetic and acoustic sensors.
02:17They don't need a ship to hit them.
02:19They find the ship.
02:20The U.S. Navy had already been directing commercial ships to route through Omani waters,
02:27the exact zone where this mine was just spotted.
02:30Which makes what Trump said in April even striking.
02:34Iran, with the help of the USA, has removed or is removing all sea mines.
02:39NBC News then reported the U.S. military had not definitively confirmed a single mine,
02:46despite extensive searches.
02:48Drones, robotic systems, aircraft.
02:51And now Oman's government is telling every ship in the strait that there's one right there.
02:58Cease-fire talks are ongoing.
03:00Shipping traffic has already dropped sharply.
03:03Marine insurance for Hormuz transits has gone into crisis mode.
03:07Mine-sweeping is not a fast process, even when you know the coordinates.
03:12And right now, a suspected mine is floating in waters that the world depends on.
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