Iran’s ‘Full Control’ of Hormuz Claim Blown Apart by CENTCOM

TAMPA, Sept 28: US Central Command (CENTCOM) has rejected as false a claim that a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander said Iran has full control over the Strait of Hormuz through its navy.

In a fact-check posted by CENTCOM, the US military said Iran does not control the strategic waterway, pointing to the continued passage of commercial vessels and large volumes of oil through the strait. CENTCOM said thousands of ships have passed through the waterway, carrying more than 1 billion barrels of oil in recent months.

CENTCOM also said Iran has no navy, asserting that US forces destroyed its naval force. The statement appears to refer to Iranian naval losses during the ongoing conflict. Reuters has previously reported that US forces sank the Iranian warship IRIS Dena in March.

The Strait of Hormuz has remained a major flashpoint during the conflict, with Iran and the United States issuing competing claims over control and freedom of navigation. CENTCOM said in September that Iran does not control the waterway and that commercial shipping has continued to transit the strait.