Centcom says the IRGC has no authority to designate shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz

US Central Command (Centcom) said in a message on Wednesday, 29 July 2026 (7 Mordad 1405), that the Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has no authority to designate specific shipping lanes within it. The message said commercial vessels continue to transit the strait with the support of US forces.

In the same statement, Centcom said that since early May about 1,000 ships and 500 million barrels of crude oil have passed through the waterway with the command's support. Eghtesad Online carried the statement at 05:30 on the morning of Thursday, 30 July 2026 (8 Mordad 1405).

The position stands against earlier statements by the IRGC Navy, which said it continues to exercise "complete management" over the Strait of Hormuz and has designated a specific route for the passage of vessels. Sahmino does not independently verify the figures and claims made by either side and reports them as attributed to the published statements.