Iran denies US warships crossed Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied that US warships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, rejecting claims by Washington that two destroyers entered the strategic waterway as part of a mine-clearing mission, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

It quoted Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central headquarters, who denied “the claim by CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper regarding the approach and entry of US naval vessels into the Strait of Hormuz.”

“The initiative in the transit and passage of any vessel lies in the hands of the armed forces,” said Zolfaghari.

The naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps later said that it maintains “full control and smart management” over the Strait of Hormuz.

In a statement carried by Tasnim News Agency, the military said passage through the strait is granted “exclusively to nonmilitary vessels” under specific rules and standards.

It also denied reports that US warships had crossed the waterway and warned that any attempt by military vessels to do so would be met with “firmness and full resolve.”

Earlier Saturday, US Central Command said on the US social media company X that its forces had “begun setting conditions for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz” after two US guided-missile destroyers transited the strait and operated “as part of a broader mission to ensure the strait is fully clear of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.”

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Cooper.

CENTCOM added that additional US forces, including underwater drones, would join the mine-clearing effort in the coming days.

The statements came hours after a new round of direct talks between Iran and the United States concluded in Pakistan, with Iranian media reporting that the sides were consulting on a written draft following negotiations.

Pakistan is hosting the landmark negotiations that is seen as the most significant between the two sides since 1979, aimed at ending the broader regional conflict amid a fragile two-week ceasefire brokered earlier this week.