As tensions surge in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States’ dedicated mine-clearing fleet is sitting thousands of miles away in the US — after being withdrawn from the Middle East just months before war erupted with Iran.

The timing has raised sharp questions about naval preparedness. Iran is accused of deploying sea mines in the narrow waterway that carries roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply, threatening global energy markets already rattled by the conflict.

Trump issues warning — but tools are missing

President Donald Trump warned Tehran to remove any mines “immediately” or face unprecedented retaliation.

In posts on his Truth Social platform, Trump threatened drone strikes against vessels attempting to lay mines and claimed several Iranian boats had already been destroyed.

Yet the specialised US Navy ships built to hunt and neutralise such mines are no longer stationed in the region.

Four decades of deterrence quietly ended

For years the US maintained a dedicated minesweeping force at the United States Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain.

Those vessels — the Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships — had been a permanent fixture in the Gulf since the Gulf War.

But the final ship in the fleet, the USS Devastator, was decommissioned last September. By January, four of the ageing vessels were already being shipped back to the United States aboard the heavy-lift carrier M/V Seaway Hawk.

Replacement fleet still in transition

The Navy plans to replace the Avengers with mine-hunting systems carried on Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships.

One such vessel, USS Canberra, has been equipped with a mine countermeasures package and escorted the decommissioned ships back to the US.

But critics say the transition is unfinished — leaving a capability gap at a moment of escalating conflict.

A dangerous choke point for global oil

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical maritime bottlenecks.

Even a small number of mines could disrupt shipping and send global energy prices soaring. The risk has intensified as the war between the US and Iran expands across the region.

Some former officers argue the Pentagon may be betting on a different strategy — destroying Iran’s ability to lay mines in the first place.

But if even a handful slip into the water, clearing them without the region’s traditional minesweeper fleet could prove dangerously slow.

Trump pulled mine-sweepers from Middle East before Iran war

Calling Trump and Hegseth amateurs is an insult to amateurs.

They're flippin' FECKLESS.