The United States and Iran are locked in a dispute over who controls the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, with both sides making conflicting claims amid a wider military confrontation.
Iran’s newly appointed Basij paramilitary chief said on Thursday that the waterway remains under Tehran’s “control and management”, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Washington has “total control” of the strait.
The competing claims come after a ceasefire collapsed in a conflict that began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes on Iran. Tehran effectively closed the strait after the war began, disrupting a route that previously carried around one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
The United States later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, saying it was aimed at protecting freedom of navigation for vessels travelling to non-Iranian ports.
Trump, in a Wednesday post on Truth Social, claimed the US “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!”
“Our naval blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” he added.
Iran strongly rejected the US president’s statement. Hossein Taeb, head of the Basij forces under Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, said Washington had sought to weaken Iran’s regional standing by launching another war but had been defeated.
“Today you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic Republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security,” Taeb said on state television.
Iran’s military command also dismissed Washington’s claims that ships were passing normally through the waterway. Military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari said such statements were “lies and fabrications”.
He said commercial vessels and tankers would not be able to safely cross the strait “without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces”.
Since the conflict began, Iran has maintained control over the vital energy route, restricting vessels from US-aligned countries and imposing fees. Senior military official Rasoul Sanaei-Rad said Tehran would not reopen the strait on its own unless Washington fulfilled its commitments.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also accused the US of repeatedly making miscalculations because of intelligence failures, describing its position on the Strait of Hormuz as an even greater miscalculation.
The United States, however, has maintained its position. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth backed Trump’s claim on Thursday, saying the US Navy could sustain the blockade indefinitely by rotating ships in and out.
“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama.
Iran seeks compensation over oil spill
The standoff has also raised environmental concerns after an oil spill reached Iran’s southern Qeshm Island.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said preliminary evidence suggested that a foreign bulk carrier was responsible. He argued that countries benefiting from the Strait of Hormuz had both a legal and moral responsibility to help address the environmental damage.
The incident follows another oil slick reported near Oman in recent days after a tanker ran aground. An AFP investigation found that the vessel had remained stranded for weeks near Oman’s Al-Qibliyyah island after sustaining damage in explosions.
Pakistan urges UN action to protect seafarers
Meanwhile, Pakistan called on the UN Security Council to strengthen protections for international shipping and seafarers amid deadly attacks in the Red Sea, while urging the international community not to lose sight of Yemen’s worsening humanitarian situation.
Pakistan’s UN ambassador, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, condemned attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, including an August 11 attack that killed three Pakistani crew members and one Indonesian national.
“The safety and security of international maritime shipping and protection of seafarers must be respected in accordance with international law,” Mr Ahmad stressed.
Pakistan also condemned Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, calling them a serious threat to regional stability and reaffirming its support for the Kingdom’s sovereignty.
The Pakistani envoy warned that Yemen’s severe humanitarian crisis should not be overshadowed by the broader regional conflict. He said renewed fighting and economic disruption could further worsen the country’s already fragile situation.
The UN Security Council held an open debate on Yemen as the repercussions of the US-Iran conflict continued to spread across the Middle East. Members discussed renewed Houthi military activity and concerns that the escalation could threaten the UN-mediated truce that has prevented large-scale fighting in Yemen since 2022.
Ahmad stressed that dialogue remained essential to achieving peace in Yemen.
“A Yemeni-led and Yemeni-owned political process … remains the only viable path towards a comprehensive and sustainable settlement,” he said.
