Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that the United States has “long miscalculated due to intelligence failures,” pointing to the war on Iran as a case in point. He added that Washington was making an even bigger miscalculation “on the Strait of Hormuz.” “Worse than fake news is fake intelligence. Be careful,” he warned.
The remarks came a day after President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social that the US had “total control” of the strategic waterway.
Iran Paramilitary Chief: Strait ‘Under Iran’s Control’
The Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s control and management,” Hossein Taeb, head of Iran’s Basij paramilitary unit, said Thursday, according to the semi-official Fars news agency. Taeb said the US had sought to disrupt what he called the Islamic Republic’s regional popularity by launching another war in the strait, but had again been defeated, despite claims that Iran lacked both an air force and a navy. “Today you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic Republic,” he said, adding that Iran was continuing on its course in complete security.
‘Fallen Into the Trap’: Former Diplomat
Former Iranian diplomat Abbas Khameyar said the US had failed “the test of economic and military warfare” against Iran, stressing that Tehran would not submit to American conditions or ambitions, according to Al Jazeera. He described the Strait of Hormuz as a “deterrent card that has succeeded in changing the course of aggression and re-imposing the rules of engagement,” arguing that Washington had broken its previous commitments and that obligations could only be fulfilled through serious, good-faith negotiations. In his view, the US has ultimately “fallen into the trap of the Strait of Hormuz” over the course of the war.
Hormuz Blocked Until ‘Iran’s Conditions Are Accepted’
Iran rejected claims by US officials that the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz had been lifted, insisting the waterway remains closed until Tehran’s conditions are met. “The successive claims and tweets by American officials about lifting the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz do not change reality; the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran’s conditions are accepted,” the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a post on X early Thursday.
Araghchi Accuses France, Western Nations of ‘Hypocrisy’ on Human Rights
Separately, Araghchi criticised the “blatant and embarrassing” hypocrisy of “countries like France” over their stance on human rights and international law. “Your backing of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and aggression against Iran, has destroyed whatever moral high ground you imagined you had,” he wrote on X.
Baghaei Calls for Environmental Accountability in Hormuz
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei called for environmental protection to be made an integral part of any future administration of the Strait of Hormuz, citing recent oil pollution along the shores of Qeshm Island. He criticised what he described as “aggressors and their partners who have transformed the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman into a theatre for military operations and the testing of highly destructive weaponry.”
