Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced on Thursday that they had stopped three oil tankers from passing through the Strait of Hormuz while the United States and Iran continued to compete for dominance over this critical waterway.

According to a report by The Times of Israel on July 23, 2026, the route historically carries around one fifth of the world’s oil supplies prior to the ongoing conflict.

Officials declared that the Strait of Hormuz remains fully under their control.

They warned that any vessel misled by American influence and attempting to transit without proper coordination with the Islamic Republic of Iran would encounter identical consequences.

This development follows reports from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels who claimed successful strikes against tankers in the Red Sea.

The group had previously issued threats to target Saudi ships moving through the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Shipping data indicated that two Chinese very large crude carriers, loaded with a combined four million barrels of Saudi Arabian oil, were proceeding toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on the same day.

In response to regional tensions, millions of barrels of Saudi oil have been redirected daily to the kingdom’s Red Sea port of Yanbu specifically to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

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