Trump says U.S. is 'starting the process' of clearing Hormuz mines

While Iran talks are taking place in Islamabad, President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that the U.S. is beginning the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines planted by Iran. 

The leader opened the message, posted to Truth Social, with blasting the media for what he described as their tendency to misrepresent the Iran conflict by "saying that Iran is “winning” when, in fact, everyone knows that they are LOSING, and LOSING BIG! Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti Aircraft apparatus is nonexistent, Radar is dead, their Missile and Drone Factories have been largely obliterated along with the Missiles and Drones themselves and, most importantly, their longtime “Leaders” are no longer with us, praise be to Allah!"

The one real threat Iran still posed were the mines it sunk in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump went on, pledging that this too would be dealt with by the U.S. 

"The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may 'bunk' into one of their sea mines which, by the way, all 28 of their mine dropper boats are also lying at the bottom of the sea. We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the World, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others. Incredibly, they don’t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves." 

Shortly after Trump's message, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said that a U.S. destroyer was forced to turn back from the waterway under strike threat.