The Iranian Army's Navy stressed full control and dominance over the eastern waters of the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) rejected the Iranian claims.
In a statement released on the army's website, the navy announced that its forces have full control and dominance over the strait's eastern waters.
In a post on social media, the CENTCOM dismissed Iran's claims of its control over the Strait, saying that the United States and its regional partners control the Strait of Hormuz.
The CENTCOM also said a Singapore-registered container vessel was hit by a projectile of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC). The vessel sank while being towed to shore. It said more than 40 commercial ships continue to flow through the Strait of Hormuz in the last 24 hours despite the attack.
The United States also denied the Iranian claim that hundreds of U.S. service members were killed in Jordan.
"Three American service members were killed in action in July as partner forces defended against Iranian attacks," said the CENTCOM in the post.
Iran navy stresses full control of Strait of Hormuz, US rejects claims
A Pakistani scholar has stressed the importance of dialogue in resolving the conflict between the United States and Iran, as the two sides remain deadlocked over access to the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program.
In recent months, Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator between Washington and Tehran, pushing diplomacy as a path to ending the conflict.
In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN), Rabia Akhtar, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Lahore, affirmed Pakistan's role as a mediator but stressed that whether an agreement is reached and implemented ultimately rests with the two countries.
"Pakistan's role is valuable because keeping a channel open gives the parties somewhere to take those agreements. A mediator can clarify a proposal, explore a sequence of reciprocal steps, and help each side understand what the other might accept. But a mediator cannot make the commitments on their behalf. Ultimately, Washington and Tehran have to decide that an agreement serves their interests and that they are prepared to implement it," she said.
Throughout the conflict, she noted, leaders have publicly deployed strong rhetoric against the other side. Akhtar called on both parties to withdraw from such practices, as they make reaching an agreement all the more difficult.
"There's also the domestic political problem. If you have told your public that anything short of the other side's surrender will be a defeat, you have made your own diplomacy much harder. Leaders need room to explain that a negotiated outcome can protect national interest. And quiet diplomacy helps because it allows options to be explored before every proposal becomes a public test of resolve," she said.
As the need for dialogue over conflict grows, Akhtar highlighted the potential role of China's Global Security Initiative (GSI), which focuses on addressing the world's growing security challenges through cooperation, dialogue, and shared responsibility, and offers a framework for managing crises.
"So for me, the GSI's emphasis on dialogue is relevant to what happens between crises as well as during them. So we need communication that survives political disagreements and commitments, that gives both sides a reason to exercise restraint. We cannot simply wait for trust to appear before we start talking. We have to use dialogue to establish whether commitments can be tested and whether restraint can be reciprocated," the scholar said.
Dialogue essential to resolving US-Iran deadlock: Pakistani scholar
