Iran’s armed forces have slammed what they describe as “lies” from U.S. President Donald Trump, who claimed on Tuesday (August 12) that the United States holds “complete” control over the Strait of Hormuz. “The false claims by the United States that ships are passing normally through the Strait of Hormuz (…) are nothing but lies and fabrications,” said Ibrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Iran’s central military command, Khatam al-Anbia.
Read also: Trump doubles down: “The Strait of Hormuz belongs to us — we will destroy Iran if it challenges us”
Iran on the Strait of Hormuz: It remains “under the full management of the Islamic Republic”
The Strait of Hormuz remains “under the full management and complete control of the Islamic Republic, and no commercial or oil tanker vessel has been — nor will ever be — able to pass safely through it without the permission and supervision of Iran’s powerful armed forces,” Zolfaghari added.
Earlier, another senior Iranian official also pushed back against Trump’s statements. “Today, you can see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic Republic, and that our country continues on its path safely,” said Hossein Taeb, commander of the Islamic Republic’s Basij paramilitary force.
Iranian MP Behnam Saedi also weighed in, stating that Israeli vessels and American warships would be barred from transiting the Strait. “Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will under no circumstances have the right to cross the Strait of Hormuz, whether in times of war or in times of peace,” he said, adding that “American warships will also be prohibited from passage.”
Trump’s claim
Trump repeated his assertion that Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday. “Right now we have absolute control of the Strait of Hormuz. They don’t have control. We have absolute control. It belongs to us,” the U.S. president told reporters. He further warned that if Iran attempts to challenge the United States, “we will obliterate them — I don’t trust them.”
