What does the news say about the effectiveness of US military actions in securing the Strait of Hormuz against Iranian threats?

The news states that despite daily US strikes aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to threaten mariners — including hitting over 60 of Iran’s small boats on July 7 and striking a supertanker deep in the Persian Gulf — Iran’s speedboats, missiles, drones, and mines continue to menace safe shipping transit, causing shippers to remain wary and driving up oil prices and insurance rates. US officials concede the strait is not fully secure, with Admiral Daryl Caudle acknowledging 'there’s no chance they’re not [mines] there,' and Vice President JD Vance admitting it’s 'just too easy to fire at ships in the straits,' underscoring the limits of US military power in protecting slow, vulnerable vessels in the narrow waterway.

How do US officials publicly characterize the current status of the Strait of Hormuz, and what contradictions exist in their messaging?

President Trump claimed early in the week that the strait was open, even as Iran vowed to close it; however, other administration figures offered more candid assessments — Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the difficulty of defending ships in the strait and stressed the need for diplomacy, while International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol warned that full closure would harm global economies 'in weeks, not months' and demanded the strait be 'fully open, unconditionally open.' White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt downplayed rising oil prices by calling markets 'rather stable,' contrasting sharply with the operational reality described by military and energy officials.

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