CENTCOM Rejects IRGC Claim of Control Over Strait of Hormuz

US Central Command (CENTCOM) on Tuesday rejected the assertion by the commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy that Tehran holds the Strait of Hormuz. The command said American forces had helped Gulf partners move more than 19 million barrels of crude oil through the strait on Monday. CENTCOM added that Iranian attacks on commercial vessels went on throughout Monday.

JNS identified the Iranian commander as Rear Adm. Ali Ozmaei. He had declared the strait to be under IRGC control and warned that any US Navy warship approaching it would be sunk.

CENTCOM replied with a social media post posted a claim-and-fact rebuttal:

"FACT: IRGC's navy commander has no navy. American forces and regional partners clearly control the Strait of Hormuz. Just yesterday U.S. forces assisted Gulf partners in shipping more than 19 million barrels of crude oil through the strait."

Aircraft carrier in the Gulf off Iran (Photo: US CENTCOM)

Arutz Sheva reported that the exchange came as the US military keeps enforcing its naval blockade against Iran.

On Saturday, CENTCOM said US forces had stopped a commercial freighter in the Gulf of Oman. The Panama-registered Ocean Molica, which also sails as the Arika Sun, had left an Iranian port. CENTCOM said its crew ignored repeated warnings and tried to breach the blockade. A US fighter jet then fired a precision-guided munition at the ship's stern and knocked out its propulsion. No one aboard was hurt.

CENTCOM said that over three months of enforcement, American forces have disabled four commercial vessels, turned back 135 ships, and destroyed 10 tankers linked to the IRGC's multibillion-dollar shadow shipping network.

Also on Tuesday, President Donald Trump told a campaign rally in Wasilla, Alaska, that the United States could take further action against Iran. "Oh, wait until you see what we do to Iran. We're going to do a number," Trump said. He also restated his opposition to an Iranian nuclear weapon: "The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon, that's buried under thousands of tons of rock."

Easrlier today, the IRGC Navy said a container ship carrying more than 2,500 containers sank after striking a naval mine south of the strait. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British navy-affiliated agency, reported that a 50,000-tonne container vessel hit a mine while passing through Hormuz. It recorded no casualties.

Last week, UKMTO said a tanker bound for Hormuz was hit by multiple projectiles north of Qatar. The UN's International Maritime Organization counts at least 24 seafarers killed in 93 confirmed incidents.