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The Strait of Hormuz is closed to ship traffic and will remain so as long as U.S. "hostile actions" continue, an Iranian military source told Iran's Fars News Agency. The statement came as the U.S. military announced it had completed another round of strikes aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to attack commercial vessels in the waterway.
The competing claims—with Tehran insisting the strategic chokepoint is shut under its full control and Washington maintaining that commercial transits continue under U.S. protection—deepen the standoff over a corridor through which the U.S. says it has facilitated the transit of some 450 million barrels of crude oil since early May.
An unnamed Iranian military source told Fars that ships are not being allowed through the strait and no permits will be issued for passage through the strategic waterway.
The source said control of the Strait of Hormuz rests entirely with Iran's armed forces, and that any decision on reopening the passage or maintaining restrictions will be taken solely based on security assessments and national interests.
As long as U.S. "hostile actions" continue, there will be no change in the situation, the source said, adding that responsibility for any disruption to maritime shipping security and its consequences lies with "the parties that have endangered regional security through military actions and tension-escalating policies."
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) separately pledged a "decisive and unforgettable" response to any aggression against the country.
In a statement responding to what it called a strategic message from Iran's commander-in-chief, the IRGC said Iran's security, independence and dignity are safeguarded through faith, national unity, combat readiness, deterrence and intelligence dominance, according to the statement posted on X.
The IRGC said it is committed to confronting "every act of aggression and enemy adventurism" with a decisive response.
The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Tuesday it completed another round of strikes against Iran targeting its military infrastructure.
"U.S. forces struck Iranian military command centers, maritime capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and air defense systems to degrade Iran's ability to continue attacking commercial vessels flowing through the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in a statement.
The command said commercial vessel transits through the international maritime corridor continue. Since early May, U.S. forces have helped facilitate the movement of approximately 900 commercial vessels carrying about 450 million barrels of crude oil through the corridor, it said.
"American forces remain postured and prepared to hold Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression toward civilian mariners seeking to freely and openly transit the strait," CENTCOM concluded.
Washington and Tehran signed a Pakistani-mediated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last month to end their conflict, but tensions flared again over the strait, with the two sides exchanging attacks.
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