CENTCOM: Zero Vessels Passed Blockade Without Permission
American military says every commercial vessel transiting the blockade zone has done so only with US authorization as service members remain focused on enforcing the steel wall against Iran
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - US Central Command announced on Saturday that American forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days since the United States resumed its naval blockade against Iran, confirming that zero ships have passed through the blockade without US forces allowing them to do so.
"Over the past 60 days since America resumed the steel wall blockade against Iran, our forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels," CENTCOM said in its statement. "ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without US forces allowing. American service members remain laser focused on this mission."
The announcement provides the most precise operational accounting yet of the naval blockade's enforcement record since it was reimposed, with the figure of zero unauthorized transits representing a direct rebuttal to Iran's repeated claims that it controls the Strait of Hormuz and that no vessel can pass without Tehran's approval and management. The IRGC spokesman had declared on August 26, 2026, that "from a military and territorial point of view, no vessel can cross this sea route without Iran's approval and management." CENTCOM's Saturday announcement directly contradicts that claim with operational data.
The 60-day timeline places the resumption of the steel wall blockade at approximately mid-July 2026, following Iran's decision to resume targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz after the June 17 memorandum of understanding collapsed. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed on Friday, September 11, 2026, that the US is targeting 85 percent of Iran's tankers and that $140 billion in oil has moved safely through Hormuz in two weeks of consecutive operations, figures that align with CENTCOM's Saturday operational disclosure.
The announcement also comes as Iran's Foreign Ministry declared on Friday that its agreement with Oman on transit corridors in the Strait of Hormuz does not necessarily mean security for shipping in the waterway, and that as long as the US blockade and economic war continue, it cannot be claimed that Hormuz is safe. CENTCOM's Saturday claim of zero unauthorized transits in 60 days places the American military's operational record directly against Iran's political claim of strait control, with the two narratives representing irreconcilable accounts of who actually controls the waterway.
The redirection of 100 commercial vessels over 60 days represents an average of approximately 1.7 vessels redirected per day throughout the blockade's current phase, a figure that reflects the sustained operational tempo at which US naval forces are enforcing the blockade zone around Iranian ports and the approaches to Iranian territorial waters, while simultaneously escorting commercial shipping through the transit corridor that has seen Hormuz traffic recover to approximately two-thirds of pre-war levels according to Bloomberg.