White House: Strait of Hormuz open to US
Shafaq News- Washington
The Strait of Hormuz is open to the United States, while Iran has exported no oil directly from its shores since Washington resumed its naval blockade last month, White House adviser Stephen Miller said on Saturday.
Cited by US media, Miller also claimed that Iran's naval and air forces, radar systems, and military command structure had been destroyed, calling President Donald Trump's campaign against Tehran the greatest military achievement in modern warfare.
The White House on August 28 put the number of commercial vessels that have crossed the Strait under US protection in recent months at nearly 1,500, carrying about 750 million barrels of crude oil. CENTCOM chief Adm. Brad Cooper detailed the clearance of Iranian mines from international shipping lanes and the interception of 75 vessels attempting to breach the blockade.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy rejected Washington's account, declaring that Tehran retains “full control” of the Strait and that restrictions on unauthorized shipping will remain until the United States meets Iran's conditions.
Seven commodity vessels transited Hormuz on Thursday, according to ship tracker Kpler, down from 17 a day earlier and below the 10-day average of 15, though the preliminary count may change because some vessels do not “broadcast tracking signals.”
Reuters put provisional Chinese imports of Iranian crude at about 534,000 barrels per day in August and reported that Iran and Oman remain in talks over shipping arrangements in the Strait. Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad acknowledged lower sales though Iran continues delivering crude to customers outside its territorial waters despite the US blockade.
