Iran's IRGC says Strait of Hormuz cannot reopen while US 'threats' continue

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened as long as US threats and interference in regional maritime traffic continue.

"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be reopened as long as the bluster and threats of US officials and their interference in maritime movements in the region continue," the IRGC said in a statement.

It warned that continued "threats and interference" would make the situation "more difficult and complicated."

The IRGC claimed that two oil tankers, "at the instigation of US aircraft," attempted overnight to transit through what it described as an "unsafe route" south of the Strait of Hormuz.

It said both vessels quickly turned back after a major fire broke out aboard one of them.

"The Strait of Hormuz is our territory, and the IRGC Navy firmly controls it," the statement said, adding that no outside power "coming from thousands of kilometers away" would be allowed to interfere.

Earlier, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces had carried out a "heavy wave" of strikes against Iran in response to what it described as attempted missile attacks targeting US forces in the Middle East.