TEHRAN, July 28 (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.
A spokesman for the headquarters rejected U.S. 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 U.S. 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 Feb. 28, when it barred safe passage of vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States following joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian territory. ■
