Washington/Tehran, 26 August (H.S.): Former US diplomat Joey Hood has said that neither Washington nor Tehran is providing a completely accurate account of the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz. Hood said US President Donald Trump frequently claims that the vital waterway is open, but that assertion is not entirely accurate. He added that Iran's claim that it has closed the strait is also not completely accurate.

According to an Al Jazeera report, Hood said Iran does not possess the means necessary to completely shut down the waterway. The Strait of Hormuz is not like a highway where you can put up a gate or erect a barrier to stop shipping, he said. Hood added that Iran threatens unarmed commercial vessels to exert pressure and subsequently launches missiles at them.

Hood said some ships switch off their transponders, travel at night and pass close to the Omani coast. The US military is attempting to protect them with the resources available to it.

Meanwhile, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed despite a temporary transit agreement reached with Oman. He said Washington would have to fulfil its commitments under the memorandum of understanding before the waterway could be fully reopened.

US President Trump has said that all mines in the international waters of the strait have been cleared and destroyed. He has also warned that any vessel laying new mines would be destroyed.

Meanwhile, according to vessel-tracking service TankerTrackers.com, at least 20 ship-to-ship (STS) transfer operations have been recorded in the Gulf of Oman. In an STS transfer, cargo is pumped directly from one vessel to another at sea. Such transfers are often used to obscure the original source of cargo or to avoid calling at ports in sanctioned or high-risk areas.

In a post on X, the company said it had tracked 25 million barrels of crude oil and other refined petroleum products originating from almost every country in the region except Iran. TankerTrackers later reported that it had identified five additional transfer operations, including one involving Iranian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

The Gulf of Oman has emerged as a key hub for ship-to-ship transfers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar