Tehran, September 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Iran has rejected a claim by US Central Command (CENTCOM) that American forces supported the transport of more than 1 billion barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months.
Abolfazl Shekarchi, senior spokesman for Iran’s armed forces, described the claim as “false and ridiculous” in a statement carried by Iranian media.
Shekarchi was responding to remarks by CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper, who said US forces had supported more than 2,000 commercial ship transits through the strategic waterway by providing coordinated protection.
Shekarchi described Cooper’s remarks as a “projection and a failed psychological operation” aimed at boosting the morale of what he called US forces in the region and justifying the financial costs and casualties incurred by Washington.
He also said such claims could not alter what he described as the expulsion of the “aggressive” US military from the region, while asserting that the initiative in the Strait of Hormuz remained with Iran’s armed forces.
In a video posted on social media on Saturday, Cooper said CENTCOM had reached a “significant milestone” while assisting more than 2,000 commercial ship transits through the strait.
“CENTCOM forces have supported more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil leaving the Gulf,” Cooper said in remarks released by the command on X.
“Thousands of ships have passed through the strait. Over 1 billion barrels of crude have been shipped from Gulf partners through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has exported zero barrels thanks to our ironclad blockade,” he added.
Cooper attributed the halt in Iranian oil exports to what he called a US “ironclad blockade”.
Following US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, Tehran restricted passage through the strategic waterway, while US forces imposed a naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports.
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