Strait of Hormuz closed, any passage requires coordination with Iran: Senior commander
A senior Iranian military commander says the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, warning that any vessel passage through the strategic waterway must be coordinated with Iran’s armed forces.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday about the latest situation in the Strait of Hormuz, Army Chief of Staff and Deputy Coordinator Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Iran’s armed forces maintain full control and oversight of the area.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed. If it was not closed, oil would be passing through it and gasoline prices in the United States would not be rising. This issue is completely clear,” he added.
He noted that the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy maintains a strong presence on the western side of the strait, while the Iranian Army operates on its eastern side of the strategic waterway and extends its presence northward into the Sea of Oman.
“Any passage must be coordinated. Otherwise, you will see what happens in the news,” Sayyari emphasized.
In a statement on Monday, the IRGC Navy said commercial vessels and oil tankers cooperating with US forces in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will face a decisive response, describing the US military as “terrorist” and “plundering.”
It added that a third crude oil supertanker was struck and engulfed in flames in the Strait of Hormuz in the morning after ignoring warnings and switching off its navigation system. It was the third tanker to be hit in two days.
A day earlier, the IRGC Navy said a crude oil supertanker was engulfed in flames after hitting a naval mine as it tried to exit the Strait of Hormuz via an "unauthorized and dangerous route," setting off a powerful explosion.
The incidents took place after the IRGC naval forces struck a giant liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier on October 9 in the Strait of Hormuz, which was attempting to pass through an "illegal route" south of the strategic waterway.
Iran has restricted transit through the Strait of Hormuz since the early days of the US-Israeli war of aggression that began on February 28 and came to a halt under a ceasefire in early April amid the Islamic Republic’s brave resistance and successful retaliatory operations.
Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen sharply, with vessel movements dropping to single digits amid the ongoing war on Iran and the restrictions on shipping through the strategic waterway.
Tehran has said it will not reopen the waterway until the United States meets the seven conditions put forward by Iran and takes steps to restore Iran's trust.