Iran has denied reports that any US naval vessels have crossed the Strait of Hormuz, state media reported, amid escalating claims and counterclaims between Tehran and Washington over the strategic waterway.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB cited a senior military official as saying that no US vessel has passed through the Strait, rejecting earlier media reports.
The denial came after a US news outlet, Axios, cited a US official as claiming that several American naval ships had crossed the waterway.
Tensions over the Strait intensified further after US President Donald Trump said on social media that Washington was beginning to “clear out” the Strait of Hormuz.
Reiterating his earlier claims, Trump said Iran’s naval, air force and air defence capabilities had been destroyed, and suggested that the remaining threat came from naval mines in the region.
Iranian authorities, however, dismissed the claims, insisting that no such US naval movement had taken place in the vital shipping route.
The Strait of Hormuz remains a key geopolitical flashpoint, with both sides presenting conflicting accounts amid ongoing regional tensions and maritime security concerns.
Source: Al Jazeera