US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial shipping despite Iran’s claims to the contrary.
Speaking in an interview with NBC, Trump accused Iran of violating the US-Iran memorandum signed in mid-June and said American forces had “bombed Iranian targets to hell” overnight.
The remarks came a day after the US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that Iran does not control the strategic waterway.
“Iran does not control the strait. Traffic continues,” CENTCOM said in a post on X. In a separate statement, the command rejected Iran’s declaration that it had “closed” the strait, stressing that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and that US forces are ensuring freedom of navigation.
The Strait of Hormuz, which links the Persian Gulf with the Arabian Sea, is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints for global oil exports.
Iran had effectively restricted traffic through the strait from early March until mid-June. A memorandum signed by Washington and Tehran in mid-June provided for the waterway to remain open for at least 60 days while negotiations on a broader agreement continued.
However, Iran has continued to insist that vessels transiting the strait must follow routes designated by Iranian authorities. During the past week, Iranian forces carried out several strikes against ships they claimed were sailing without authorization, prompting the United States to launch attacks on targets inside Iran. The latest US strikes took place overnight on July 11-12.
The US military says commercial vessels can safely transit the strait through the so-called southern corridor near Oman’s coast. Iran, however, considers that route unauthorized and has threatened to strike ships using it.
Hormuz Strait Monitor shows that 20 vessels passed through the strait over the past 24 hours—roughly one-sixth of normal commercial traffic.
