Iran has rejected U.S. claims of control over the Strait of Hormuz, insisting the strategic waterway remains under Tehran’s management and that vessels cannot pass without its permission. Hossein Taeb, the newly appointed head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force, said on Thursday that the United States had failed in its efforts to undermine Iran’s influence in the region.
“Today you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic Republic,” Taeb said, according to semi-official Fars news. The remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump said Washington had “total control” of the vital waterway, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments previously passed.
Iran effectively closed the strait after US and Israeli strikes on the country began on 28 February. The United States subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, while saying it would safeguard navigation for vessels travelling to and from non-Iranian ports.
Iran’s joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday that no vessel could transit the strait without Tehran’s approval. “The baseless claims made by the United States regarding the normal passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz are nothing more than lies and falsehoods,” the command said in a statement carried by state media.
A temporary ceasefire and agreement on restoring freedom of navigation reached by the two sides in June later collapsed after Iran resumed limited attacks on vessels it said had breached the agreement. The US then resumed strikes on Iran’s southern provinces, saying they were intended to reduce Tehran’s ability to target shipping in the Gulf.
Iranian military political official Rasoul Sanaei-Rad said on Thursday that Tehran would not reopen the strait until the other side fulfilled its commitments under the interim agreement. He added that Washington could not reopen the waterway unilaterally and warned that Iran would respond more aggressively in any future conflict.
“In a possible future war, we will stand more firmly and more offensively,” Sanaei-Rad said.