Shafaq News- Tehran
The Iranian Navy seized the oil tanker Ocean Koi in the Sea of Oman, escorting it to Iran’s southern coast and handing it over to judicial authorities, amid ongoing tensions in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian parliamentary official Ebrahim Rezaei told local media that US forces would not be able to cross Hormuz, and that neither a limited naval presence nor full US maritime forces could secure passage through the waterway.
Earlier today, US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated that its forces intercepted Iranian attacks during the transit of the US destroyers USS Truxtun, USS Rafael Peralta, and USS Mason through the Strait of Hormuz toward the Gulf of Oman.
Iran, however, accused US forces of violating the ceasefire, alleging that they targeted an Iranian oil tanker and another vessel near the strait, as well as coastal sites in Bandar Khamir, Sirik, and Qeshm Island. Tehran said it responded by targeting US naval units and inflicting “significant damage.”
Tehran has restricted vessels linked to the United States and Israel from navigating through Hormuz for more than two months in response to US-Israeli strikes, while Washington later imposed similar restrictions on vessels departing Iranian ports.
US President Donald Trump announced “Project Freedom” on May 3 as a naval mission aimed at escorting stranded vessels through the strait, but suspended the operation less than 48 hours later, citing requests from Pakistan and other countries as well as reported progress in indirect talks with Iranian representatives.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi accused the United States on Friday of systematically undermining diplomatic openings with military escalation, questioning whether Washington's approach reflects deliberate pressure or the influence of actors pushing the country into a new quagmire.
Aragchi also pushed back on circulating figures about the state of Iran's military readiness, asserting that the country's missile stockpile and launch capability stand not at 75 percent of their February 28 levels, but at 120 percent.
Read more: Force without a finish line: Iran is losing the war, the US is losing the endgame