Iran rejects Trump claims of US control over Hormuz as 'lies'
Summary
Iran’s military on Thursday rejected Donald Trump’s claims that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz, calling them lies. Iran said the strategic waterway remains under its complete management and control, while Trump said the U.S. has total control and will keep it. Iranian officials also said U.S. and Israeli ships are barred from the strait.
Key Facts
- Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s central military command, said commercial ships and tankers cannot pass the Strait of Hormuz without permission and supervision from Iranian armed forces.
- Iran said it has controlled Hormuz since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28 and requires vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees.
- Hossein Taeb, head of Iran’s Basij forces under the Revolutionary Guards, also said the strait is under Iranian control.
- Behnam Saeedi said ships belonging to Israel will not be allowed to pass under any circumstances, and that U.S. military ships will also be barred.
- Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but the negotiations have not yet been finalized.
A man holds an Iranian flag, next to a picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday. WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters-Yonhap
TEHRAN — Iran's military on Thursday rejected as "lies" remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control.
"The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally ... are nothing more than lies and fabrications," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran's central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya.
"The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces has had and will have the possibility of safe passage through this strait," he said in a video carried by state television.
Iran has kept control of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.
In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the U.S. "has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!"
"Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he added.
On Thursday, the head of Iran's paramilitary Basij forces under the Revolutionary Guards also said that the strait was under Iranian control.
"Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security," said Hossein Taeb according to state television.
Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said the U.S. makes miscalculations in regard to the waterway.
"The U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz," he said on X.
Iranian parliamentarian and member of the national security commission Behnam Saeedi said the strait is closed to U.S. and Israeli ships.
"Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances, whether in war or peacetime," he told state TV, adding that "US military ships will also be barred from passing through the Strait."
Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but negotiations have not yet been finalised.
Tehran, however, says even if the talks produce a new route, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the U.S. meets Iran's demands.
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