Dubai. The US military claimed on Monday that it had reopened a lane through the Strait of Hormuz and battled Iranian forces and sank six small boats in the process. 

Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command, told reporters that American forces have successfully opened a passage through the strait that is free of Iranian mines. He said Iran launched multiple cruise missiles, drones, and small boats at civilian ships under the US military’s protection.

US military helicopters sank six of the small boats, Cooper said, adding that “each and every” threat had been defeated.

“The US commanders who are on the scene have all the authority necessary to defend their unit and to defend commercial shipping -- as we saw and demonstrated earlier today,” Cooper said.

The US military also has set up a “defensive umbrella” that includes American helicopters and fighter planes to protect the freighters leaving the strait, he said.

Separately, US envoy to the United Nations Mike Waltz told reporters Monday that the US will be co-drafting a Security Council resolution with Bahrain and its Gulf allies that would “hold Iran to account” for its monthslong chokehold over the critical waterway.

The unreleased draft would require Iran to stop laying sea mines in the strait and halt all tolling efforts. It would also require the disclosure of the number and locations of the mines it has placed. It’s unclear what enforcement mechanism, if any, the resolution will have to ensure any of these demands.

But it is the latest diplomatic effort by the US and its Gulf allies after a similar resolution was vetoed by China and Russia hours before a temporary ceasefire was announced in early April.

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