Iran Claims Strait of Hormuz Closure Amidst Conflicting Reports

Tehran. Following Iran's announcement of the strategic waterway Strait of Hormuz being closed again in protest of Israel's attack on Lebanon, ship traffic in the region has significantly decreased. According to maritime intelligence company Windward, only 12 ships crossed the Strait on Sunday. On the previous day, 35 ships used the waterway. Of the eight ships that entered the Strait, five had their automatic identification systems on, making their movements difficult to track. Windward wrote on the social media platform X that the current situation appears to be indicative of a blockage. Earlier, after a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian to end the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran, there were signs of improvement in ship traffic in the Strait. According to maritime data provider Kepler, 25 ships crossed the waterway on Thursday, the highest since mid-April. However, on Saturday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the closure of the Strait, accusing Israel of 'crimes' in Lebanon and the US of failing to establish peace. However, the US military's Central Command denied Iran's claim, stating that the waterway is still safe and open. According to Central Command, 55 commercial ships used the route on Saturday alone. With a large difference in the data provided by both sides, the actual situation remains unclear. According to Behrouz Bakhtiari, a supply chain expert at Canada's McMaster University, some ships may have used the Omani coastal route, turning off their AIS to avoid Iranian military surveillance. 'If Iran wants to show that traffic has decreased, and Central Command wants to show that the impact is minimal. Therefore, the data from both sides may appear different,' he said.