U.S. Says Iran's Claim of Closing the Strait of Hormuz Is False

[Financial News] United States Central Command (CENTCOM) denied on the 31st local time Iran's claim that it had closed the Strait of Hormuz. It said the blockade against Iran is being fully enforced.
CENTCOM, which oversees U.S. military operations against Iran, said on X, formerly Twitter, that "the Iranian government is again claiming it has closed the Strait of Hormuz" and that "this is false."
It added that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to civilian shipping. "Iran does not control the strait," it said. "Thousands of ships have passed through this international waterway over the past four months."
In another post, CENTCOM stressed that as of July 31, it had diverted 30 merchant vessels, disabled two, and conducted boarding inspections on two others, saying it was fully enforcing the blockade against Iran. The U.S. military also wrote that it had allowed about 30 ships to pass through the blockade line for humanitarian assistance.
Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed it had attacked two tankers that tried to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. air escort. It said the two tankers had left Iranian control and used a "dangerous and illegal route."
Meanwhile, the U.S. military lifted its maritime blockade on Iran on the 18th of last month. It resumed the blockade at 4 p.m. local time on the 14th, shortly after the de facto expiration of the previous U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding. As clashes between the U.S. and Iran resumed, traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped sharply. Maritime traffic data showed that only five vessels passed through the area on the 30th.

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