Iran19 September, 20263 min read
Abolfazl Shekarchi Dismisses CENTCOM Claims On Strait Of Hormuz Oil Tanker Escort
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Iran's armed forces spokesman dismissed CENTCOM's claim about escorting one billion barrels of oil. The initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains in Iran's hands.
6 outlets told this the same way.
Outlets did split on Iran Reviews US Negotiation Proposals As Pakistan And Qatar Mediate Strait Of Hormuz Dispute →
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Hormuz dispute escalates
Iran’s senior military spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi dismissed CENTCOM commander statements about the escort of oil tankers and the exit of one billion barrels of oil over the past two months, calling them fabricated and lies.
In TehrAN on Sep. 19, 2026, Shekarchi said the claims were “a failed psychological operation to boost the morale of the exhausted and fatigued forces of the terrorist U.S. army in the region,” and added it could not alter the reality of the U.S. military’s withdrawal from the region.
Shekarchi emphasized that “the initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains firmly in the hands of Iran’s powerful armed forces,” framing the dispute as an Iranian-controlled initiative in the strategic waterway.
PressTV also reported Shekarchi rejected the “false and ridiculous” US claims, saying the CENTCOM commander’s remarks were more a failed psychological operation than a reflection of reality.
PressTV further said Iran restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the illegal US-Israeli aggression that began on February 28, and that Iran says reopening depends on US compliance with obligations under the MoU.
CENTCOM counters on oil
PressTV reported that in a statement shared on X, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said US forces facilitated the transport of over one billion barrels of oil through the waterway in the last two months alone. PressTV added that Cooper said the strait’s primary transit lanes had been cleared of mines, allowing thousands of ships to pass through the waterway, and that US forces provided protection for more than 2,000 commercial vessels. Against that, Shekarchi told Mehr News Agency that the CENTCOM claims were “a failed psychological operation” aimed at boosting morale and justifying “America’s exorbitant financial and human costs.”
The ISNA-linked account in ایسن also attributed to General Abolfazl Shakarchi the line that “Deception and the false and ridiculous claims of the CENTCOM commander” were aimed at boosting the morale of the “tired and worn-out United States’ terrorist army.” Mehr News Agency and ایسن both said the claims could not change the reality of the invading army’s withdrawal from the region, while PressTV described Iran’s position that the reopening of the Strait depends on US compliance with the MoU.
MoU, closure, and next steps
PressTV said Iran restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz in response to the illegal US-Israeli aggression that began on February 28, and that Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to all traffic after unlawful US measures including a naval blockade and resumed airstrikes. PressTV reported that shipping traffic through the Strait has reached its lowest level in months, sending oil prices to their highest, and that the Islamic Republic says reopening depends on US compliance with its obligations under the MoU. The same account said that on June 17, Tehran and Washington signed the Pakistan-brokered Memorandum of Understanding, whose Article 5 places responsibility for reopening and managing the Strait squarely in Iran’s hands.
Mehr News Agency and خبرگزاری مهر both quoted Shekarchi saying the CENTCOM commander’s claims were a psychological operation to boost morale and justify costs, while insisting “the initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remains in the hands of Iran’s powerful armed forces.” Across the accounts, the dispute centers on who controls the initiative in the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran tying any change to US compliance under the MoU and CENTCOM asserting protection and cleared transit lanes for commercial shipping.