Iran's Revolutionary Guard says US claims about Hormuz are ‘lies’ to manipulate oil prices

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said Friday that US claims that the Strait of Hormuz is open are "lies" aimed at manipulating oil prices and concealing Washington's failures.

The IRGC Navy said in a statement by Iran's state broadcaster IRIB that US officials had made "false and misleading" statements about the waterway's status.

"Statements by American officials regarding the opening of the Strait of Hormuz are an outright lie, aimed only at manipulating oil prices and covering up their failures," it said.

The IRGC Navy said its control of the strategic waterway was "decisive," asserting that the strait will remain closed to all vessels seeking to pass without coordination with Iran.

It said the measure will continue until the end of "the evil actions" of the US military against Iran and until commitments outlined by Tehran were fulfilled.

The US military's Central Command said Thursday that internationally recognized shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz are open after American forces cleared sea mines from the waterway.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday that millions of barrels of oil are continuing to pass through the waterway despite tensions with Iran.

"The strait is open. The Strait of Hormuz is open. We have control, and we have the blockade," Trump said in remarks at the White House.

"We're taking a lot of boats," he added. "Millions and millions of barrels of oil are coming out of the strait every day."

The Strait of Hormuz is a major global energy chokepoint linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the wider Arabian Sea.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that Tehran agreed with Oman on a passage route through the strait and would reopen the strategic waterway if the US fulfilled its commitments under the Islamabad Memorandum signed in June.

The two littoral countries have been holding talks on an arrangement to manage shipping through the waterway since the signing of the memorandum.

Under that deal, the US and Iran agreed to extend an April ceasefire and gradually allow shipping through the strait to return to its prewar levels.