Iran says Strait of Hormuz to remain under its control

 Iran has stressed that it will continue to control the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump said the key waterway could soon reopen.

The passage, which is crucial for global oil and gas markets, would remain "under full Iranian administration and sovereignty" even in the event of an agreement with the United States, an Iranian military spokesman wrote on X.

Iran's Fars news agency said Trump's claim that the strait would return to its pre-war status did not reflect the facts.

Trump had written on his Truth Social platform that a framework agreement in negotiations to end the war with Iran had been "largely" negotiated. He said part of the agreement was that the Strait of Hormuz would be opened.

Trump added that the agreement still needed to be finalized by the US, Iran and other countries.

Iran's armed forces took control of the Strait of Hormuz shortly after the start of the war. Threats and attacks on ships brought traffic through the waterway largely to a standstill, causing global energy prices to rise sharply.

Tehran has maintained that the Strait of Hormuz is not blocked. In practice, however, shipping companies have had to coordinate with Iranian contact points and pay high fees. Only a few vessels have passed through the strait in recent weeks.

Fars reported that Iran had agreed to increase the number of ships passing through the strait back to pre-war levels. However, the agency said this did not mean the situation in the Strait of Hormuz would return to how it was before the war.