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Akbar Novruz

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United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Wednesday that it has helped around 1,000 vessels navigate the Strait of Hormuz since early May, AzerNEWS reports.

The number includes oil tankers carrying around 500 million barrels of crude oil in total.

CENTCOM rejected the claim by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that international maritime traffic should only pass through irs approved routes.

"The IRGC has no authority to dictate routes for free and open traffic flow. Commercial vessels continue to use the strait with US military support," CENTCOM said.

Iran has rejected a proposal from Oman for the countries’ joint oversight of the critical Strait of Hormuz and has, instead, made a proposal of its own as both sides continue to pore over the terms of what a final agreement could look like.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a state broadcast on Tuesday that Oman’s proposal had not sufficiently addressed Tehran’s concerns about control of the strait.

He added that Iran’s counterproposal would give Tehran more control over the waterway.

The narrow strait has been at the centre of the conflict between the United States and Iran since late February, when US-Israeli attacks began on Iran. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies were shipped from Gulf producers via this route. Shortly after the war began, Tehran closed the strait, triggering global supply challenges. The US later imposed its own, corresponding blockade on Iranian ports.

Following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Iran and the US on June 17, the strait was supposed to be reopened to shipping, without charge, for at least 60 days. However, the vague wording of the MoU has caused considerable disagreements over who has ultimate control over the waterway – which passes through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman – and which routes ships should take.