‘No ship can safely pass…’: Tehran rejects US claims on Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s top military command declared that no vessel can safely transit the Strait of Hormuz without its permission, rejecting US claims of control. The statement came after President Donald Trump asserted America’s “total control” over the strategic waterway, describing a naval blockade as a “wall of steel.”

Tehran: Iran’s main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, on Thursday stated that no vessel can safely transit the Strait of Hormuz without the permission of Iran, local media reported.

“The false American claims that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally are nothing more than lies and falsehoods,” the spokesman of the headquarters stated, Iran’s state-controlled Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported.

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“It is announced that the Strait of Hormuz, as in the past, is under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker will be able to safely transit through this strait without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces,” he added.

Earlier in the day, Iran’s Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Aragchi said that the US has miscalculated the war on Iran.

“The US has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz. Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful,” he stated on X.

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump said the United States has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz and indicated that Washington intends to retain its hold over the strategic waterway.

“The USA has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it!” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

The US President described the naval blockade in sweeping terms. He said Iran could do nothing to challenge it.

“Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘a wall of steel,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” Trump said.

The President did not provide operational details about the blockade. He also did not say how long the US expected to maintain control of the Strait or set out the conditions under which the operation could end.