IRGC asserts control over Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Navy said it has full and decisive control over the Strait of Hormuz and rejected U.S. claims that the waterway remains open. It called the American statements false and said they were meant to influence oil prices and hide U.S. setbacks. The force said ships cannot pass through the strait without prior coordination with Iran and that this restriction will remain until U.S. military pressure stops and required commitments are met.
The statement comes amid rising tensions over the strategic chokepoint, which Iran says it closed after the latest round of American-Israeli aggression. Tehran says any reopening depends on a set of conditions, including an end to U.S. interference in regional maritime traffic, the lifting of sanctions, and a halt to hostilities on several fronts. Iranian officials have also linked the strait’s importance to national security, saying the conflict has turned it into a central issue for the country.
Iranian officials argue that previous understandings to reopen the route were undermined by U.S. violations, forcing Tehran to restore the closure. They say the waterway cannot be treated as open while Iran remains under blockade and external pressure. At the same time, President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran and Oman had agreed on a coordinated plan to reopen shipping through the strait under mutually accepted terms, suggesting diplomatic talks are still ongoing.
The dispute highlights a wider regional standoff involving maritime security, sanctions, and military pressure. Tehran says it wants reciprocal commitments and an end to aggression before any lasting change in the strait’s status, while Washington insists the route remains open.
