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Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP

The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and Iran says it will stay that way until its conditions are accepted. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which oversees maritime traffic through the strategic waterway, rejected US claims that the strait is no longer blocked.

The statement came after Donald Trump said the United States has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and will “keep it.”

Iran says the reality is very different. State television quoted Basij commander Hossein Taeb saying the strait is under the Islamic Republic’s “management and control,” and that Iran is continuing safely along its course.

The standoff comes as the two countries remain locked in conflict, with the US imposing a blockade on Iranian ports. Trump says negotiations with Iran are underway.

Tehran denies that, saying it is only discussing a possible route through Hormuz with Oman.

For now, the vital artery for global oil trade remains at the centre of the confrontation.