Tehran and Washington Clash over Hormuz Control

Iran claims control over the strategic waterway, while US President Donald Trump declared the previous day that the United States had "total control". Hossein Taeb, head of Iran's paramilitary Basij force, said Thursday that his country would continue on its current course in complete security.

Tehran effectively closed the strait after the outbreak of war on 28 February, triggered by US-Israeli attacks on Iran. Until then, about one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments had passed through the strait. Washington subsequently imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports.

In June, the two countries reached an interim agreement on a permanent ceasefire and the swift restoration of freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf. A few weeks later, however, the agreement collapsed after Iran resumed limited attacks on vessels, prompting further US strikes.

Iranian military official Rasul Sanaei-Rad said Tehran would not reopen the strait until the other side fulfills its obligations under the interim agreement.

(Reuters, bak)