Iran has rejected claims by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is open, saying the key waterway will remain closed until Tehran’s conditions are accepted.
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, the body responsible for maritime traffic in the strait, dismissed the U.S. claims in a statement posted on social media.
“Claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality,” the authority said.
“The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted.”
The statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington had “total control” of the strategic waterway and intended to keep it.
“Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran has maintained that ships cannot safely pass through the strait without authorisation from its authorities.
Iranian military officials have also rejected U.S. claims that normal shipping has resumed.
The dispute comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high and negotiations aimed at easing the conflict have stalled.
U.S. officials have said the naval blockade of Iranian ports can continue indefinitely, while Iran has insisted that reopening the waterway depends on its demands being met.
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains well below normal levels.
Reuters reported that nine vessels passed through the waterway Thursday, compared with five the previous day and an August daily average of 12.
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