Strait of Hormuz shut? Iran makes U-turn, calls claims ‘baseless’, ‘absurd’; slams US for death of '100 sailors'

Iranian mission to United Nations, on Thursday, denied all ‘claims’ that the Islamic Republic has closed the Strait of Hormuz. Describing the “claims” as “baseless” and “absurd,” the Iran mission claimed that “in reality, it is the US that has endangered maritime security.”

“The claim that Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz is baseless and absurd. Iran remains committed to international law and freedom of navigation. In reality, it is the U.S. that has endangered maritime security,” the Iran mission's post on X read.

On Monday, 2 March – a senior commander from Iran's Revolutionary Guard said that the Strait of Hormuz had been shut and warned that any vessel attempting to transit the waterway would be targeted, Iranian media reported.

The series of claims comes amid the ongoing Israel-Iran-US conflict which entered its sixth day on Thursday, 5 March – with explosions also reported across Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Dubai – among other key Gulf cities.

Several strategically important islands dot the waterway, including Iran’s Hormuz, Qeshm and Larak. Also located there are the disputed Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa islands, under Iranian control since 1971, offering Tehran a commanding position over passing ships.

In its X post, the Iranian mission to UN also criticised the American naval attack that sank the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena in international waters, resulting in the “deaths of over 100 sailors.”

Iranian officials said the vessel – IRIS Dena – had been visiting India before the attack and was carrying around 130 sailors when it was struck off the coast of Sri Lanka.

IRIS Dena, the 1,500-ton Moudge-class frigate, was on its way to Iran after taking part in a multilateral maritime exercise, Milan 2026, in Visakhapatnam.

On Thursday, Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of launching an unprovoked strike thousands of miles from Iranian territory, warning that the United States would ultimately “bitterly regret precedent it has set.”