The Strait of Hormuz is under Iran's control and management, the newly appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary force said on Thursday, contradicting US President Donald Trump's claim a day earlier that Washington had "total control" of the strategic waterway, reported Reuters.
Hossein Taeb said the US had sought to disrupt what he described as the Islamic Republic's popularity in the region by launching another war in the Strait of Hormuz, but had once more been defeated despite claiming Iran had neither an air force nor a navy.
His comments came as tensions between Tehran and Washington remained high over the vital shipping route, through which a significant share of global oil and gas supplies traditionally passes.
Its a "war of wills" between the US and Iran as both sides hope the other will bend to the other's demands. As President Trump goes as far as saying that Tehran should pay the US reparations for the economic damage caused by the war,
Reopening the Strait of Hormuz is becoming more pressing as global oil stockpiles are rapidly dwindling, the International Energy Agency warned. The UAE said two of its tankers were attacked while transiting the strait Thursday, reported CNN.
The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) confirmed attack on two of its vessels while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday evening. However no injuries were reported.
Also there are now environmental concerns over the oil spill, said media reports. Tehran demanded compensation for pollution in the Persian Gulf after video geolocated by CNN showed oil washing up on a beach around Qeshm Island.
Separately, an oil spill from a tanker stranded off the coast of Oman now covers about 500 square miles, Greenpeace said, raising fears of a major ecological disaster in the Arabian Sea.
Meanwhile the tension is escalating as US is set to send another carrier group to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln.
This comes as families of USS Abraham Lincoln sailors raised concerns about deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health during the ship’s record-breaking deployment amid the war with Iran, a US official said.
The USS George Washington carrier group, which finished a port visit in Vietnam on August 5, is currently headed to the Middle East to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a US official told CNN.
The official said that the swap had been previously planned. It was not immediately clear when the Washington would arrive.
The Lincoln has been the subject of growing concerns about the wellbeing of its crew, with Democratic lawmakers demanding answers from the Pentagon.
This news network had first reported on Thursday that a sailor had gone overboard last month, but was quickly rescued and medically evaluated. The circumstances under which the sailor went overboard were not immediately clear nor whether the sailor returned to duty or was evacuated from the ship.
News outlets Stars and Stripes and the Navy Times reported this week that there had been multiple attempts by crew members to jump overboard, citing interviews with sailors and families of those on board who described the impacts of its lengthy deployment.
Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego last November, the aircraft carrier has been deployed for more than 250 days after being redirected to the Middle East to support US operations in the war with Iran, now entering its sixth month.
