Arabic version: إيران ترفض ادعاء ترامب السيطرة على مضيق هرمز
According to Al Jazeera, Iran has rejected President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the waterway will remain closed until the United States changes its behaviour and accepts Iranian conditions. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told China’s ambassador to Tehran that the strait would not reopen without those changes, Tasnim news agency reported.
Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews on Tuesday that the United States controlled the strait. But United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said shipping was still reduced, while attacks and harassment continued as Iran and the US maintained blockades in and around the passage. Iran has demanded sanctions relief, the release of frozen assets and compensation for attacks, while Rezaei also called for an end to the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and a region-wide ceasefire.
Commercial traffic remains heavily disrupted. US Central Command said a US Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at the Panama-flagged M/V Vela Nova in the Gulf of Oman after it allegedly tried to violate the US blockade of Iranian ports. CENTCOM said the ship’s steering gear was disabled and reported no crew casualties. Shipping data from Kpler, cited by Reuters, showed eight vessels transited Hormuz on Tuesday, compared with a prewar daily level of about 130 ships.
Violence has also affected the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Yemeni authorities said six people were killed in a Houthi attack on the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, including four crew members and two Yemeni rescuers; 10 others were injured. Separately, Iran says talks with Oman on future management of Hormuz and new shipping lanes are in their final stages, while denying direct discussions with Washington. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited Tehran as efforts continued to revive negotiations under an interim memorandum of understanding brokered by Islamabad and Qatar in June.
