Iran and the US make conflicting claims over control of the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is "under the control and administration of Iran," the newly appointed head of Iran's Basij paramilitary force said, a day after US President Donald Trump said the United States has "complete control" over the strategically important waterway.

Hossein Taeb said that the US tried to damage, as he stated, the Islamic Republic's popularity in the region by starting another war in the Strait of Hormuz, but that they were defeated again, despite claims that Iran has neither an air force nor a navy, Reuters reports.

"Today you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the administration and control of the Islamic Republic," Taeb said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, adding that Iran continues on its path in complete safety.

After the start of the war, which began with US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, Tehran virtually closed the strait, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments previously passed.

The US then imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ships and ports, while stating that it would protect freedom of navigation for ships traveling to and from non-Iranian ports.

The two countries reached a temporary agreement in June that declared a permanent ceasefire and called for the rapid restoration of freedom of navigation in the Gulf.

The deal collapsed a few weeks later, after Iran resumed limited attacks on ships it said were sailing in violation of the deal's arrangements, prompting the United States to relaunch strikes on Iran's southern provinces. Washington said the strikes were aimed at weakening Tehran's ability to attack ships in the Gulf.

Separately, senior military-political official Rasoul Sanaei-Rad said on Thursday that Iran will not reopen the Strait until the other side fulfills its obligations under the interim agreement, adding that reopening the waterway is not something the US can achieve unilaterally, Fars reported.

Sanaei-Rad also warned that Iran would respond more forcefully in any future conflict.

"In a possible future war, we will stand firmer and act more offensively," he said.