Sri Lanka, March 11 -- The US military said it destroyed multiple Iranian naval ships - including 16 minelayers - near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

US Central Command posted video of some of the strikes on X.

CNN reported earlier that Iran has begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important energy chokepoint that carries about one-fifth of all crude oil, according to two people familiar with US intelligence reporting on the issue.

US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday that "if Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!"

Following Trump's post, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on X that at T...