October 6, 2026
In light of the ongoing discrepancy between Tehran and Washington over influence and control in the Strait of Hormuz, the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Ali Fadavi, announced that American forces had withdrawn more than a thousand kilometers from the Iranian border, claiming the absence of American naval vessels from the waters of the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, the Sea of Oman, and the northern Indian Ocean.
In statements to Iranian state television, Fadavi attributed this alleged decline to the readiness and strength of the ground forces of the Revolutionary Guard, stressing that the strait has been under Iranian sovereignty for several months, and that Tehran, in cooperation with Muscat, has developed new rules for navigation in the vital corridor and is currently working to enforce them.
The Iranian leader pointed out that ship captains are forced to sail through the southern part of the strait for insurance and financial reasons, warning at the same time that any ship that takes this route may expose itself to “measures” taken by the Iranian armed forces at any time. This Iranian narrative completely contradicts repeated American assurances that Washington will continue to secure the waterway and protect international shipping traffic.
On the field level, data from the company “Kpler”, which specializes in tracking maritime navigation, showed an increase in the average weekly flows of non-Iranian crude oil exported from the Gulf states and Iraq through the Strait of Hormuz during the past week, exceeding the pre-war rates of 18 million barrels per day, in conjunction with the increased transit of oil tankers under American protection, and despite the attacks that targeted some tankers in the region.
This escalating debate highlights the extent of the strategic competition over one of the most important and sensitive waterways for energy security and global trade, as Tehran continues to claim full control over the strait and its navigation rules, at a time when the United States imposes a naval blockade on Iranian ports and asserts its role as the main guarantor of freedom of navigation in the Gulf.
