IRGC Navy chief rejects U.S. claim of controlling Strait of Hormuz, says reality on the ground is different
Rear Admiral Ali Ozmaei, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, rejected U.S. claims that Washington controls the Strait of Hormuz.
"Today, the Americans claim that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that they control it, but this claim is far from the realities on the ground," Ozmaei said in a televised interview Tuesday.
He said Iran exercises what he described as "smart control" over the strait and requires vessels seeking passage to obtain authorization.
The White House said in August that U.S. forces controlled the Strait of Hormuz, citing cleared shipping lanes and the movement of commercial vessels under U.S. protection.
Tensions around the strait have intensified in recent weeks amid repeated attacks on commercial shipping and competing claims by Washington and Tehran over control of the waterway.
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