Iran has threatened to block what it calls “illegal” traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, saying it retains full control of the passage despite US claims to the contrary.
The waterway is one of the world’s most important energy routes, normally carrying around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. Traffic through the strait has been severely disrupted since the US-Israeli war on Iran began in late February, driving up energy prices. Brent crude was trading at around $101 a barrel on Wednesday, compared with roughly $72 before the conflict.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, said on Wednesday that several transit routes through the strait along Oman’s coast would soon be closed.
Naqdi said the routes had been created by blasting and damaging rocky passages and were being used by small boats to carry oil through the waterway before transferring it to tankers. He described the shipments as “smuggling” and argued that they were too limited to show that traffic through Hormuz was returning to normal.
”The Strait of Hormuz is closed, and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran have full control over it,” Naqdi said, adding that the restrictions would remain until Tehran’s “legitimate demands” were met.
Iran has previously offered to reopen the strait if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a sharply different assessment on Wednesday, saying the strait is “open” and that Iran had “lost complete control” of Hormuz.
”There’s almost as much oil flowing out now as there was before this conflict began,” Rubio told reporters.
President Donald Trump has also said the US military is helping oil shipments pass through the strait, claiming that daily flows have risen above 20 million barrels. He has blamed the global diesel shortage primarily on Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries rather than the Middle East conflict and has urged Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky to halt the attacks.
Regional crude exports have rebounded significantly. A seven-day moving average reached 18.3 million barrels per day on September 30, according to provisional Kpler data cited by Reuters. The figure includes oil shipped through routes other than Hormuz.
Security risks in the strait remain high. The Panamanian-flagged tanker On Peace was hit by a projectile near Oman on Tuesday, injuring 12 crew members, according to the Indian authorities. No group has claimed responsibility.
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