Several U.S. Navy ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday in what a senior U.S. official described as a freedom-of-navigation operation, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid. Iranian state-linked outlet Tasnim later denied that any U.S. warship had passed through the strategic waterway.
On X, Ravid said the U.S. official told him the warships crossed the strait from east to west into the Gulf before returning east through the waterway to the Arabian Sea. The official described it as “an operation focused on freedom of navigation through international waters,” according to Ravid, who said it was the first such U.S. warship passage since the war began.
Tasnim, citing what it described as a senior Iranian security official, rejected that account. The outlet said no ships had passed through the strait since the ceasefire took effect. It also reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said a U.S. destroyer trying to enter the strait turned back after receiving a warning from Iran’s armed forces.
Ravid later said, citing a U.S. official, that the United States did not receive such a warning.
The conflicting accounts have not been independently confirmed. The reports came as Pakistan hosts negotiations aimed at ending the conflict, after helping broker a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire earlier this week.
The war has disrupted movement through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global crude oil and liquefied natural gas trade. Iran’s health authorities said nearly 3,000 Iranians were killed in the war, while at least 13 U.S. service members were also killed and dozens more were wounded, according to the source material provided.
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