US Centcom commander, admiral Brad Cooper (Photo: ANI).
135 such incidents have occurred in the Strait amid the Iran-US conflict, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) weekly review. Iran’s ISNA news agency reported that the incident triggered an explosion and a severe fire. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
Centcom claimed Tehran lost $25 billion since the blockade affected oil exports. Additionally, the US claims to have frozen Iran’s $350 million in cryptocurrency, ANI reported. “In seven days alone, 400 ships have sailed through the Strait. US has also assisted Gulf partners in shipping over 100 million barrels of crude oil during the same period, adding to more than 1.3 billion barrels we have helped allies to ship in the recent months,” Cooper said.
Because of the naval blockade imposed by Washington, the US on Friday claimed Tehran was under severe financial pressure and unable to fund its proxy militia. Because the US had blocked Tehran’s access to sea routes, uS central command (Centcom) commander, admiral Brad Cooper, claimed the financial crunch was.
The sum total of these actions has imposed a devastating cost on Iran’s security apparatus and IRGC specifically,” Cooper said. “In recent months, Centcom in close coordination with US agency partners has delivered severe blows to the Islamic regime and the IRGC in three important areas,” he added. Iran’s “proxy militia” includes members of the Axis of Resistance, a network of Iran-aligned governments and armed groups in the Middle East that oppose Israel and US military influence in the region. The Centcom commander said Iran was facing shortages across several sectors, including energy and oil, steel and heavy industry, manufacturing, automotive, aviation, construction, security and the military. On Friday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said an “illegal supertanker” carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil had been struck by a sea mine while attempting to cross what it described as the “unauthorised” Strait of Hormuz.
“Iran has no exports or imports by sea. Its principal members and partners include Iran, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in the Palestinian territories, among others. He asserted US dominance over the Hormuz region. The claim came amid competing assertions of control over the strategic waterway.