U.S
By Bernard Moerdler,
U.S. Central Command said the Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels seeking to lawfully transit the international waterway, rejecting Iran's declaration that it had closed the strait, as we reported earlier. Iran does not control the waterway and U.S. forces are positioned and prepared to keep it open, the command said, responding to a statement by the IRGC Navy commander that no foreign vessel may pass through the strait without being identified, tracked, and monitored by Iranian forces.
The commercial vessel the IRGC Navy said it stopped was identified as the GFS Galaxy, a Cyprus-flagged container ship struck off the coast of Oman's Musandam Governorate. Oman's Ministry of Defense said its Maritime Security Center rescued 23 crew members and that a search is under way for one crew member who remains missing. Central Command identified the vessel and cited the strike on it as the trigger for its latest round of strikes inside Iran. The IRGC Navy said it had targeted the ship for moving along what it called an unauthorized route with its systems switched off. BNN was not able to independently verify that account.
Topics: Iran, Strait of Hormuz
Reported by Bernard Moerdler for Bernie News Network. See our editorial standards and corrections policy.