Iran says it manages Strait of Hormuz after Trump claims US control

A senior Iranian official said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz remains under the control of the Islamic republic, a day after President Donald Trump claimed the United States controls the strategic waterway.

The competing claims deepen tensions over the vital energy corridor.

Who controls the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran says the Strait of Hormuz is under its own control and management, according to a senior Iranian official. Trump has claimed the opposite, saying the United States has "total control" of the waterway. The two sides have made repeated, competing claims over the strategic passage in recent days.

What did Iran's Basij commander say about the strait?

"Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security," said Hossein Taeb, head of the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards.

He made the comments on state television. His remarks came a day after Trump asserted US control over the waterway.

What did Trump say about the Strait of Hormuz?

"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. "Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he added. The US has repeatedly claimed control over the strait, while Iran rejects the claims and says it intends to impose a toll system.

How has Iran's foreign minister responded to Trump's claims?

Iran's top diplomat, Abbas Araghchi, said on Thursday that the US has made miscalculations regarding the waterway. "The U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures.

Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz," he said on X.

Will US and Israeli ships be allowed through the strait?

Iranian parliamentarian Behnam Saeedi, a member of the National Security Commission, said on Thursday that the strait is closed to US and Israeli ships.

"Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances, whether in war or peacetime," he told state TV. He added that US military ships will also be barred from passing through the strait.

Are Iran and Oman negotiating a new route through the strait?

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, though negotiations have not yet been finalized.

Tehran says that even if the talks produce a new route, this would not on its own open the waterway. Iran maintains that any opening depends on the US meeting its demands.