Strait of Hormuz Remains at Standstill — Iran Admits Sea Mines, Publishes Avoidance Charts; Haaretz: Iran Can't Remove Them

The Strait of Hormuz remained effectively closed to commercial shipping on April 10, two days after the US-Iran ceasefire took effect. Iranian media published a navigation chart showing alternative shipping routes in the Strait to protect vessels from 'possible collisions with sea mines' — an implicit confirmation that Iran's IRGC had mined the waterway. Haaretz reported, citing US officials, that Iran cannot find or remove its own mines from the Strait of Hormuz, making a rapid reopening technically impossible even if both sides agreed politically. Al Jazeera reported shipping traffic remained in single digits, with tanker operators demanding compensation from Iran exceeding $1 million per transit. The UAE's oil industry chief confirmed the Strait was 'not open' — Iran was conditioning access on coordination with its armed forces. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed the reports as 'false' but the market diverged from the official position: oil prices were creeping back up as traders factored in the mine problem. The Strait's continued closure was rapidly becoming the central obstacle to the Islamabad talks producing any tangible result.