Iranian Navy says no ships have passed Hormuz, denies US claims

Iran’s navy said on Monday (May 4) that no commercial vessel or oil tanker had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in recent hours, rejecting U.S. military assertions that American forces had escorted ships through the strategic waterway amid rising tensions.

In a post on X written in Farsi, the Iranian Navy said U.S. officials’ claims were “baseless and utterly false,” and warned that maritime activities contradicting what it called the principles of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy would face “serious risks.”

“Offending vessels will be powerfully halted,” the post said.

The comments came after the U.S. military said it had broken an Iranian blockade at the entrance to the Gulf, with two U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers entering the region and at least two U.S. merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

-Mariana Hernandez/Reuters