The US Navy reportedly carried out a highly classified and dangerous four-month operation to remove mines from the floor of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important maritime chokepoints.

Iranian forces are said to have planted mines throughout the key waterway after the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in February. The strait is a critical route for global energy markets, with roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passing through it.

By June, around 80 mines were believed to have been positioned in essential shipping lanes, according to estimates from the International Maritime Organization.

Last week, however, President Donald Trump said that “all mines” in the strait’s international waters had either been removed or blown up, while also referring to the narrow passage as “American territory.”

Details of the covert effort have now emerged, with Navy SEAL divers reportedly operating at night for months to neutralize the threat and reopen the shipping corridor, according to the Financial Times.

They worked in small teams at night using inflatable-hulled crafts and located the mines on the bottom of the strait with the help of robot boats and submersibles operating towed sonar arrays.

Those devices, like the MK 18 Mod 2 Kingfish, containing high-resolution, side-view sensors, can detect objects like mines on the bottom of the ocean – allowing forces to sweep large areas for the explosives with minimal risk to crew members.

Still, divers would then have to approach the mines underwater and place a charge on it to destroy it.

Alternatively, they could use robot submersibles like the UK’s SeaFox or the newer US AN/ASQ-235 Anchorfish to destroy the mines with explosives, according to demining expert Bryan Clark.

Either way, it is ‘an extremely time-consuming process,’ Nitya Labh, associate fellow at Chatham House, told the Financial Times.

‘They are doing, essentially, active bomb detonation underwater,’ she noted.

Clark also explained that ‘mine-clearing forces are vulnerable because the operation is slow and their boats or helicopters lack defenses.’

Fortunately, no US casualties have been reported specifically linked to the demining operation.

Ship owners and security advisors now say they are optimistic that the southern half of the strait near Oman’s coast – through which the US has been guiding ships – is genuinely mine-free.

But they expressed their doubts that the entire 104 mile waterway is clear, as only a handful of commercial ships have traveled through the strait since the war began.

And even the threat of mines has forced insurers to jack up their prices, up to 10 times their prewar costs. For a typical supertanker, that could mean insurance costs of about $10 million to traverse the waterway without Iranian permission.

Officials in Tehran have also dismissed the US’s claims that the waterway is mine-free, with Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi saying in late August that ‘no one except Iran knows the location of these mines.’ 

The US Navy-directed Joint Maritime Information Center further warned there was a ‘continued risk of drifting or unchartered mines’ even as Trump declared the strait mine-free. 

Military analysts note that the Iranian regime has thousands of Maham mines, similar to those used in World War II.

Some sit just below the surface and detonate when a ship hits lead horns on the mine itself, while others detect changes in electromagnetic fields as vessels pass overhead.

Iranian media has since claimed that at least two tankers struck mines in the past week, though no mine attacks have been reported or confirmed by maritime authorities.

An Iranian military spokesman also claimed on Thursday that Tehran has laid more mines close to Oman, near where US forces are directing cargo ships.

RELATED: UK Weighs Sanctions on Israeli Settlements as PM Burnham Faces Potential Trump Clash: Report

Yet on August 30, the US military announced that it struck Iranian rocket launchers preparing to fire sea mines into the strait. 

‘It’s hard to know what to believe,’ said Ethan Connell, assistant director of Taiwan Security Monitor and an expert on mines.

‘Iran is certainly trying to re-mine,’ he noted as he acknowledged ‘it’s always possible the [US] Navy missed some.’ 

Amid the uncertainty, cargo ships have been forced to either comply with Tehran’s recently established Persian Gulf Strait Authority and request permission to pass through the strait – potentially risking US sanctions – or take the route around Oman.

‘The Iranians have realized that their strongest card is the perception that they control the Strait of Hormuz,’ said Bill Hamblet, a retired US Navy captain who often operated in the Gulf.

‘If they can convince the world that they can threaten the strait, that’s their strongest source of strategic leverage.’

On the other hand, the United States does not have to prove that every mine has been removed; it simply needs to establish sufficient confidence that shipping can resume.

That may prove to be a difficult task as about one out of every 30 ships in the strait continue to be attacked by missile and drone strikes.

‘The bigger game is on the information side,’ Hamblet said. ‘That may be as important, if not more important, than what’s actually happening in the water or on the bottom of the strait.’ 

Still, just two ships crossed the waterway on Saturday, while six made the journey on Sunday.

However, the true scale of traffic in the strait remains unclear as some ships have reportedly switched off their transponders and crept through the waterway under the protection of US military escorts. 

Trump has made the reopening of the waterway a key plank of ending the war in Iran.

But the war could last a little while longer after the Pentagon began extending troop deployments overseas at Hegseth’s request, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

The military is planning to keep 50,000 soldiers in the area to help with missions that involve intercepting missiles and protecting commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. 

However, Trump has denied that the more than six-month military campaign in Iran is a ‘war,’ calling it ‘small potatoes.’

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, the commander-in-chief was asked about the ongoing operations in Iran, and to respond to Vice President JD Vance’s claim, one day earlier, that the ongoing conflict is ‘not a war.’

‘I’ll tell you what,’ Trump said. ‘A lot of people call it a war. I call it a military conflict,  because it’s small potatoes,’ Trump said. 

He then characterized the military conflict as a small-scale operation compared to previous conflicts, such as the Vietnam War, which he invoked several times.

‘It’s not a big thing,’ Trump continued. ‘We did Venezuela, and we did this, and Venezuela [we] lost nobody,’ Trump said, referring to the US capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, ‘and [in] this, we lost 18 people.’ 

At least 18 US service members have been killed in the war with Iran since it began in February 2026, according to data from the Department of Defense, and a much higher number, at least 767 US service members, have been injured.

‘It’s intermittent. We do intermittent conflicts,’ Trump said of the war with Iran. ‘It’s very intermittent.’  

‘We’ve been in there for five months,’ Trump said of the US war with Iran, which stretched past the six-month mark roughly seven days ago. ‘And in five months, what did we do? We stopped them from having an Israeli war,’ Trump said of the US strikes in Iran. 

‘If we didn’t go in there, you wouldn’t have Israel right now,’ Trump told reporters. ‘You wouldn’t have the Middle East. And they probably would go [at] European cities, and our cities next,’ he continued. ‘But we stopped them, in five months.’ 

Pressed by a reporter about the conflict, Trump responded by firing back, ‘How long were we in Vietnam?’ 

‘I don’t think it matters what you call it,’ Trump added, a moment later. ‘What matters is we had tremendous success.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to the US Navy for comment. 

Darius Slayton offered a farewell message to Giants fans after the team released the veteran wide receiver just days before opening the season on “Sunday Night Football.”

“Grateful for my time in NY. 7 years a Giant nothing but love for one of the most prestigious organizations in the NFL,” Slayton wrote Monday evening on X. “Excited to see what’s next.”

The move did not come entirely out of nowhere. After the Giants’ final preseason game, The Post’s Paul Schwartz reported that Slayton’s place on the roster was in danger as cutdown decisions approached.

Slayton’s run with the Giants began in 2019, when Big Blue drafted him in the fifth round. He went on to spend seven seasons with the franchise in East Rutherford.

He leaves the Giants with 296 receptions, 4,435 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns over his tenure with the team.

MORE STORY: Georgetown Charlie Kirk Lookalike Contest Set for Anniversary

However, it seems Slayton is already drumming up interest from other teams now that he’s on the open market. 

NFL insider Josina Anderson reported that three teams had already reached out for preliminary talks with the wide receiver. 

No teams were named in the report, but she suggested keeping an eye on the Colts, considering the preexisting relationship between Slayton and quarterback Daniel Jones. 

The Giants’ decision to move on from their longest-tenured player on the roster helped save $3 million in cap space for this year. The Giants attempted to move Slayton, but things never fell into place, so the decision to cut him was made. 

Speaking with reporters last week, Slayton had said his presence brought “just another playmaker” into the Giants’ receiving room. 

“I feel like we have a bunch in the room, a lot of really talented guys that we’ve added to the roster. I see myself as one of those guys in whatever capacity that I can be,” he said at the time.

An Egyptian television personality with a large public following was sentenced Saturday to death by hanging in a sweeping narcotics case centered on an alleged organized network accused of producing and trafficking synthetic drugs.

Sarah Khalifa was one of 12 defendants ordered to face execution over accusations tied to the operation, including the alleged importation of materials used in drug manufacturing, according to Egypt’s state-backed Ahram Online. In civilian cases in Egypt, death sentences are carried out by hanging.

Khalifa is known as a media figure, beauty clinic owner and former TV presenter who has appeared across multiple Egyptian channels. The local news outlet Masrawy reported that she previously hosted the Egyptian crime program “Mission Impossible.”

Khalifa, who has amassed more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram, was reportedly taken into custody in Cairo in April 2025 as authorities pursued the investigation.

The case involved a total of 28 defendants who were charged with forming an organized criminal group, as well as possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition, Ahram Online said. Twelve were sentenced to death, nine received life sentences and seven were acquitted of all charges.

The group allegedly operated like a production and distribution network, with members assigned different roles. Some were responsible for importing raw materials, while others manufactured and distributed the synthetic drugs, the prosecution said, according to reports.

The group was also accused of storing materials and manufacturing drugs in a residential property.

More than 750 kilograms, or roughly 1,653 pounds, of synthetic narcotics and raw materials were seized during the investigation, prosecutors said, according to reports.

The case against Khalifa and the other defendants relied on statements from 20 witnesses, along with technical and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos that prosecutors said documented the alleged criminal activity, according to Ahram Online.

Authorities also placed the defendants’ assets and bank accounts under precautionary measures and ordered those already in custody to remain detained, Ahram Online reported.

A New Jersey gun shop owner is speaking out after helping restrain a disruptive passenger with duct tape during a tense American Airlines flight.

Richard O’Lenick, 53, who owns Gun for Hire in Woodland Park, was traveling back from a gun expo in Reno with employee Juan Mejia when the incident unfolded. The pair were on the second leg of their journey, flying from Dallas to Newark, when 67-year-old Arizona resident Layne Arthur Lundeen allegedly became unruly onboard.

O’Lenick and Mejia, a retired police officer, stepped in to help the crew secure Lundeen in his seat using zip ties and duct tape. They then helped keep him restrained as the American Airlines flight was diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

‘It was a pretty volatile situation for a while,’ O’Lenick recounted to the Daily Voice. ‘Safety was definitely a concern, and not knowing where it was going and what the intent was.’

According to O’Lenick, the first two hours of the flight had passed without incident before the situation suddenly escalated.

But at around 10pm, Lundeen, whom passengers said appeared to be drunk, started yelling at the male passenger seated next to him.

The realtor was allegedly going on a tirade about Jesus and going to hell, which caused a flight attendant to come over to see what the commotion was, sources previously told TMZ. 

Lundeen, who was sitting in first class, then allegedly called the black flight attendant the N-word and made homophobic comments, the outlet reported. 

‘Everyone on the entire plane was on alert that something was not right, but we didn’t know what was going on or why,’ O’Lenick said.

Lundeen then started flailing his arms minutes later, and struck another passenger before grabbing their throat. 

The woman seated behind Lundeen began hitting him and Lundeen then struck her.

At that point, Mejia decided to jump in, helping the passenger next to Lundeen escape before taking the empty seat and restraining the unruly passenger. O’Lenick soon followed.

‘I knew we were going to be doing this together, it wasn’t a thought,’ O’Lenick said. ‘I’ve got his back and he’s got mine.’

As the two men tried to calm Lundeen down, one of the flight attendants brought them zip ties while a third passenger helped secure Lundeen, who continued fighting, even allegedly biting Mejia.

The flight attendant then suggested they tape Lundeen’s mouth, but Mejia refused because he did not want to interfere with Lundeen’s breathing, O’Lenick recounted. 

They instead decided to duct tape Lundeen to his seat – wrapping it around his head as well when he tried to bite O’Lenick. 

‘He was still fighting us through the entire process,’ the gun shop owner said.  

ALSO READ: Power Outage Halts Florida State-SMU Game for Nearly 2 Hours

At one point, Lundeen looked directly at O’Lenick and gave him a sober warning.

‘I don’t love to fly and he looks at me and goes, “We’re all going to die. This plane is going to crash,”‘ O’Lenick said. 

‘And I said, “You’re going to meet a couple of new friends when we land.”‘

Lundeen eventually started to settle down but then continued to resist as passengers learned the flight was being diverted to Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

When the plane then began its descent, O’Lenick said he was asked to return to his seat for landing.

But within 10 to 15 seconds of him moving away, Lundeen once again started attacking Mejia.

O’Lenick then sprang back into action and helped hold Lundeen through landing. 

Once on the ground, Maryland Transportation Police and federal agents boarded the plane. O’Lenick and Mejia remained with Lundeen until the authorities handcuffed him and removed the unruly passenger from the plane in a wheelchair.

‘It went the way it did because we have a good relationship and we understand each other and neither of us were going to let the other down,’ O’Lenick said of his friendship with Mejia.

Still, the flight was further delayed as Lundeen had injured his arm – leaving blood in the cabin that required a cleaning crew to come aboard twice. 

Lundeen now faces charges of disorderly conduct and second-degree assault in Maryland, as the FBI mulls whether to add federal charges.

The real estate company Lundeen worked for has also confirmed to the Daily Mail that he has been fired from his position.

‘Long Realty is aware of reports concerning criminal charges filed against a former affiliated real estate agent arising from an incident that allegedly occurred during a commercial flight,’ CEO Kevin Kaplan said. 

‘Upon learning of the incident, Long Realty promptly ended its affiliation with the individual. The individual is no longer associated with or authorized to represent Long Realty in any capacity.

‘The conduct described in the reports is wholly inconsistent with the professionalism, integrity, compassion, and respect for others that Long Realty expects from those affiliated with the company.’

Georgetown University students are allegedly organizing a Charlie Kirk “lookalike contest” to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the conservative activist’s assassination, prompting anger from the advocacy group Kirk helped found.

The planned Sept. 10 event was advertised in a post on Fizz, an anonymous social media app used by college communities, and has drawn thousands of “upvotes,” according to Fox News Digital.

Fizz is not officially affiliated with Georgetown University, but users must have a university email address to participate on the school’s platform.

The post promoting the contest received more than 2,200 upvotes, a figure that represents nearly one-third of the undergraduate student body at the private Jesuit university in Washington, DC, the report said.

“Charlie Kirk lookalike contest. September 10th 2026. Pull up to Copley Lawn [on campus] to speak the truth while the cost is high,” the post said, according to screenshots obtained by Fox.

Georgetown’s Turning Point USA chapter, a conservative nonprofit advocacy group founded in part by Kirk, provided the posts to Fox News Digital and said they were meant to be mocking. 

Other posts to the Fizz app discuss a lookalike contest for Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk.

“Can the winner of the Charlie Kirk one be prom king with the winner of this?” one commenter said. 

Another sickly proclaims “Happy Kirkaversary, September 10th, on Healy Law.” 

RELATED: Chipotle Rival Launches Copycat Menu Item to Lure Fans Back

Included in the posts is also a request for the school’s a capella group to sing the viral meme song “We Are Charlie Kirk.” 

In a statement to Fox News Digital, a Georgetown University spokesperson said that the school was not planning such an event and had no knowledge of any student organization planning a similar event. 

“We take these anonymous posts seriously and condemn their language as deeply inconsistent with Georgetown University’s values,” the spokesperson said.

“While Georgetown’s policies give latitude for the free expression of ideas and opinions, making light of a victim of violence is counter to our values and deeply disappointing.”

Turning Point USA officials slammed the possible lookalike contest.

“A culture that can no longer simply mourn the fallen, or respect them enough to at least keep their mouth shut, is a culture that has lost touch with a basic sense of shared humanity,” TPUSA spokesman Andrew Kolvet said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Shame on any of the mockers and trolls who debase themselves by continuously proving Charlie outclassed them in every conceivable way.”

The president of Turning Point USA’s Georgetown University chapter, Heidi Sui, said: “The TPUSA Chapter at Georgetown strongly condemns any events that aim to disrespect Charlie Kirk and the upcoming memorial ceremony at UVU.

“These events are not representative of how Americans feel about Charlie and his legacy. To the millions of us who listened to his debates, Charlie never celebrated violence. But some liberal students do. And they are doing it right here — in our nation’s capital of all places,” Sui said in a statement to the outlet.