U.S. military says Strait of Hormuz remains open

Alsharq Tribune-Ahmed Essam 

U.S. Central Command said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz remained open, with increasing commercial ship traffic through the waterway.

"Safe passage through the international waterway remained intact today as 55 merchant ships transited, moving large amounts of cargo and more than 17 million barrels of oil to global markets," the command said in a statement.

"U.S. forces remain present and vigilant to ensure all aspects of the agreement with Iran are adhered to, obeyed, and in full force and effect," according to the statement.

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday that the United States is "not seeing any evidence that the Iranians are still closing down the Strait of Hormuz."

Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, announced Saturday the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, citing U.S. breach of the newly-signed peace memorandum of understanding and Israel's ceasefire violations in southern Lebanon, Iran's semi-official Mehr news agency reported.