TEHRAN (Xinhua): Iran's main military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Tuesday that vessels belonging to any country or company accepting compensation from Iran's frozen assets would not be allowed to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's state-run broadcaster IRIB, Xinhua reported.
A spokesman for the headquarters rejected US President Donald Trump's statement that ships damaged by Iran in the Gulf would be compensated using Iran's frozen funds.
He said Iran believes the vessels were damaged because of insecurity created by the US military and their use of what he described as an illegal and unsafe shipping route south of the Strait of Hormuz.
The spokesman said Iran's armed forces would bar the vessels of any country or company accepting such compensation from transiting the strait.
Iran tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz beginning February 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iranian territory. -- Xinhua
