U.S. denies that commercial ships have bypassed its blockade of Iranian ports

Miami .- The United States Army denied this Wednesday that commercial ships have bypassed its blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, as reported by international media, reporting that US sailors have prevented the passage of 29 ships in total. “In the last 24 hours, media reports have claimed that several commercial vessels evaded the blockade, citing the M/V Hero II, M/V Hedy, and M/V Dorena as examples. These reports are inaccurate,” stated the U.S. Central Command (Centcom), based in Florida, on its social media. Centcom spoke out after reports such as the one in the Financial Times, which reported that 34 oil tankers have evaded US forces based on data from the Vortexa platform, and the one in The Telegraph, which revealed that “Iran is avoiding the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz by exporting oil from one of its eastern ports.” The organization indicated, for example, that the Hero II and Hedy ships, with the Iranian flag, are actually anchored in Chah Bahar, Iran, after the “US forces intercepted them this week.”

Indefinite truce to allow time for negotiation

While a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Indian Ocean escorts the Dorena ship “after attempting to violate the blockade”. “U.S. military has a global reach. U.S. forces are operating and implementing the blockade around the Middle East and beyond,” Centcom concluded.

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The events occur one day after the announcement by the President of the United States, Donald Trump, about an indefinite truce to allow time for negotiation with the Government of Iran, although the president warned that he will maintain the naval blockade imposed on the Islamic Republic.

This has created uncertainty around the negotiations, as the speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohamad Baqer Qalibaf, stated this Wednesday that his country will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States lifts the blockade against its ships and ports.

In this context, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) closed this Wednesday with a rise of more than 3% and stood at $92.96 a barrel, while Brent crude for delivery in June rose around 3.5%, to almost $102.