RABAT, October 20. /TASS/. US warships have been forced by Iran to move some 700 kilometers away from the Strait of Hormuz, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Iranian army) Hossein Mohebi said.
"Iran has forced US warships and frigates to leave the Strait of Hormuz," he said, as quoted by the Iranian television channel SNN. According to the spokesman, "before the war, there were between 30 and 40 US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf, but now they have withdrawn 700 kilometers from the Strait of Hormuz."
"The Strait of Hormuz is 100% closed. Even if a few small vessels manage to pass through the strait with their navigation systems turned off, that does not mean the strait is open to navigation," he said, adding that such actions amount to "theft and contraband."
According to Mohebi, the volume of oil that the United States "smuggles through the Strait of Hormuz" amounts to "not more than one to two barrels." "And this is achieved at enormous cost," he added.