New Delhi, April 12 -- US officials say Iran has been unable to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to more shipping traffic because it cannot locate all the naval mines it laid in the waterway and lacks the capability to remove them, The New York Times reported. This is one reason why Iran has been slow in complying with the Trump administration's pressure to restore maritime traffic. Iran laid the mines using small boats last month after the US and Israel launched a war against it. Combined with threats of drone and missile attacks, the mining sharply reduced tanker movements through the strategic waterway, pushing global energy prices higher and giving Iran significant leverage during the conflict. Iran kept a narrow corridor open, allowing vessels willing to pay a toll to transit safely. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps warned ships about possible mine hazards, while semi-official media published maps marking approved routes. According to US officials, the restricted traffic reflects the haphazard manner in which the mines were deployed, the New York Times reported. Iran may not have accurately recorded all placements, and some mines were positioned in ways that allowed them to drift from their original locations, New York Times reported. Naval mines are far easier to lay than to remove. Even the US military lacks large-scale mine removal capabilities, relying mainly on specialised littoral combat ships with mine sweeping capabilities, the New York Times reported. Iran, officials say, faces even greater limitations in clearing the mines it planted, the report added. On Wednesday, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said maritime traffic would resume in the strait "with due consideration of technical limitations," a remark US officials interpret as an acknowledgment of Iran's difficulty locating and clearing the mines, New York Times reported....