CENTCOM: Strait of Hormuz to Remain Open to Navigation and Trade

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Brad Cooper stated that approximately 400 commercial vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz over the past seven days, affirming that “the strait will remain open to navigation and trade,” while noting the continued restrictions on Iranian maritime trade and measures taken to curtail Tehran’s funding sources.

In an operational update shared in a video posted by CENTCOM on its X (formerly Twitter) account, Cooper said, “With the exception of humanitarian aid we have allowed to enter, Iran is no longer able to export or import any goods by sea.” He added, “These measures, taken together, have inflicted severe losses on Iranian security apparatuses, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).”

He reported that “in recent months, CENTCOM, in close coordination with partners across various U.S. agencies, has delivered significant strikes against the Iranian regime and the IRGC in three critical areas”: “oil exports, digital financing, and the payment of security forces.”

He noted that as a result, “we have so far prevented Iran from exporting crude oil worth at least $25 billion—billions that would have been used by the world’s primary state sponsor of terrorism to fund proxy militias and criminal networks.”

Cooper further stated that CENTCOM “has supported its partners in other U.S. agencies in freezing cryptocurrency assets valued at nearly $350 million, further constraining Iran’s ability to fund terrorism or replace weapons and facilities we have destroyed.”

He concluded, “It is evident that the Iranian regime is bearing the brunt of the economic crisis, and the IRGC is showing increasing signs of desperation as a result.” He pointed out that “recently, the IRGC has routinely attacked commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, often resulting in the deaths of innocent civilian sailors.”