The U.S. said that attacks on Iran were aimed at countering the laying of mines in the Strait of Hormuz

Strikes by the U.S. military on Iranian territory were intended to prevent the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of Iran's armed forces) from placing mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

This claim was made by the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

"The U.S. armed forces have taken limited, precise action against IRGC forces that were laying mines, which posed an immediate threat to the Strait of Hormuz," the agency's page on X says.