The United States Central Command (CENTCOM) on Wednesday rejected Iran's position that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has the authority to dictate shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz. In a statement published on X, CENTCOM described the strait as an international waterway and said the IRGC has no legal basis to impose restrictions on free and open maritime traffic. The statement noted that commercial vessels continue to transit the strait with US military support, and that since early May 2026, CENTCOM forces have assisted approximately 1,000 ships carrying about 500 million barrels of crude oil through the narrow passage.

The Iranian position, as reported by Iranian media, holds that the security of the Strait of Hormuz should be managed by littoral states without foreign military involvement. Tehran has rejected a reported Omani proposal for joint management of the waterway. The CENTCOM statement follows what US officials describe as IRGC attempts to threaten and attack commercial vessels and innocent mariners transiting the strait. US President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, claimed that "only ships we want pass through the strait. Iran does not control the strait, we control the strait."

The dispute comes amid heightened US naval and military pressure on Iran in the Persian Gulf. According to the Iranian newspaper Donya-e Eqtesad, the US on 16 Tir 1405 (7 July 2026) resumed aggressive operations against Iran, citing alleged attacks on vessels south of the strait, and reimposed a naval blockade from 23 Tir. The US Treasury Department on 29 July imposed new sanctions on an Iran-linked marine insurance network and several companies and tankers associated with Iran's "shadow fleet." Washington frames these actions as defending freedom of navigation, while Iran insists that extra-regional powers should not be present.

While CENTCOM asserts that commercial shipping continues to move with US protection, maritime intelligence firms report that vessels still adhere to routes designated by Iran. The exchange underscores the unresolved tension between Iran's security claims over the strait—through which about a fifth of global oil passes—and the US military's enforcement of its interpretation of international law. No further negotiations or diplomatic steps have been announced, and both sides maintain their competing operational stances in the waterway.