The United States and Iran have made starkly contradictory claims about shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as Washington and Tehran traded threats over the strategic waterway.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in an interview with ABC News on Sunday that oil tankers had continue to make it through the Strait of Hormuz despite the heightened tensions, and that America was closely tracking the movement of large tankers and would take action to ensure the free flow of oil regardless of Iranian cooperation.
Wright also said that public reports indicating that most shipping traffic through the strait has stopped in recent days "are just not true."
Meanwhile, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency, citing a source from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, reported Sunday that shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had dropped to zero with no vessel traffic currently taking place, warning that any attempt to transit the waterway would be met with Iranian strikes.
As long as the United States continues its "hostile and provocative actions", the strait will stay closed and Iran will issue no passage permits to any ships, according to the report.
According to a report by Iran's semi-official Tasnim News Agency on Sunday, Iran's IRGC Navy issued a statement, claiming that four "violating vessels," with the U.S. support, switched off their navigation systems and ignored repeated warnings from the IRGC Navy as they attempted to transit the strait via an "unsafe route."
As a result, two of the vessels stopped after an accident, while the other two abandoned the transit, said the statement.
The IRGC Navy stressed that it maintains "full control" over the Strait of Hormuz, and the only authorized passage is the designated safe shipping route announced by the Iranian authorities.
Tensions over the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20 percent of the world's petroleum supply flow through during peacetime, have continued to escalate over the past few days, with the United States striking Iranian military and infrastructure targets and Iran retaliating with missile and drone attacks on U.S. military assets in the region.
US, Iran trade conflicting claims over Strait of Hormuz as tensions escalate
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that his country is engaged in a "full-scale war" with the United States, stressing the importance of maintaining economic stability during wartime.
"Today's war is not a war of merely missiles. The enemy has come to the conclusion that it cannot force the Iranian nation to surrender with military strikes," Pezeshkian said at a meeting of the High Council of the Judiciary in Tehran, according to a statement published on the website of his office.
He said that the "enemy" has waged a "hybrid war" against Iran, describing the economy and the people's livelihood as the most important areas of confrontation with the "enemy," and highlighting the necessity to maintain economic stability and protect social assets as two priorities of "the system of governance during wartime."
Pezeshkian added that his government "fully protected" Iran's national rights and interests in negotiations with the United States, including in the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 18.
Iran has received proposals from mediators, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday, amid continued tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the United States.
Baghaei made the remarks at a weekly press conference in Tehran without giving details, when asked whether he could confirm reports about new proposals by Qatar for the revival of U.S.-Iran negotiations and a 10-day ceasefire.
Baghaei stressed that Iran's diplomatic apparatus remains active alongside its military responses to U.S. attacks, while condemning recent U.S. strikes against civilian infrastructure, including bridges and medical centers, as violating "people's rights to life, security and human dignity."
On the peace memorandum of understanding signed with Washington on June 18, he said the agreement's "text is completely clear," and Washington has no pretext to breach its promises under it.
He said Tehran adhered to a "commitment for commitment" principle until Washington repeatedly violated its commitments, prompting Tehran to cease its own obligations.
On the Strait of Hormuz, he affirmed Iran's resolve to exercise its sovereignty over the waterway and prevent any "misuse" against its interests.
The United States has launched multiple strikes on Iran's southern provinces over the past week, saying they were aimed at "degrading Iran's ability to threaten commercial shipping."
Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting U.S. military bases and facilities in regional countries, including Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan.
The escalation comes as the two sides, under their MoU, were scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement.
Iranian president says his country in "full-scale war" with U.S.
