A News Agency

According to CCTV, United States President Donald Trump, commenting on tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, claimed that control of the critical waterway is in the hands of the US Navy.

Trump said Iran must meet Washington's demands for the strait to be reopened normally.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said the Strait of Hormuz is “actually open now,” but that control in the region is in the hands of the US Navy. Describing the US naval blockade against Iran as “a steel wall,” Trump said the US military controls ship traffic in the region.

Trump said Iran's occasional laying of mines complicates the situation, while claiming that the US Navy is clearing the strait of mines.

According to a statement by US Central Command (CENTCOM), more than 20 warships have been deployed to the Middle East to support US military missions, including enforcement of the naval blockade against Iran.

CENTCOM said the US military had forced 55 commercial vessels to change course, disabled two commercial ships and boarded two other vessels to conduct inspections as part of its operations.

Data from ship-tracking platform Kpler show that commercial traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains under severe pressure.

According to Kpler, the number of confirmed passages through the strait was 15 on Friday, 11 on Saturday and only 6 on Sunday. The data showed that vessel traffic through the strait weakened further toward the end of the weekend.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghahr said the Strait of Hormuz would not be reopened until the United States changes its position.

According to Zolghahr's remarks, Iran's conditions include the United States permanently ending its war against Iran and its armed allies in the region, halting threats against Iran, releasing Iranian vessels, paying compensation for war damages and lifting sanctions.

Iran is also demanding the unconditional release of its frozen or seized assets.