The spokesperson for the Iranian army denied that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic, stressing that the country does not wish to enter the American‑Israeli war.
In press statements, the spokesperson said, "We did not close the Strait of Hormuz, but it has become unsafe due to American provocations.” He added, “We have entered a war we did not want, and we had warned that if the enemy miscalculated, it would suffer heavy losses.”
He emphasized that targeting American bases does not mean carrying out hostile operations against neighboring countries.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard stated that “there are new weapons prepared to confront the Zionist‑American military aggression,” adding that “our forces are ready for a long‑term war, and the enemy should expect painful strikes in every operational wave.”
He also reported that the Revolutionary Guard’s air defenses destroyed an Israeli drone that attempted to strike sites in Isfahan.
At the same time, Iranian state television announced that the recent airstrikes on the capital, Tehran, targeted a parking lot, two residential homes, a medical center, and a fuel station.
The Iranian Red Crescent reported that 14 medical centers and 9 of its affiliated facilities were damaged as a result of the Israeli‑American attacks.
Earlier, on March 2, the adviser to the commander of the Revolutionary Guard, Ebrahim Jabari, declared the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, warning that Iranian forces would target any ship attempting to pass. He added that Iran would target the oil routes of what he called “the enemies,” stressing that the country “will not allow oil exports from the region under the current escalation.”
Two days ago, ship-tracking service websites revealed that dozens of oil tankers had halted on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz after the Revolutionary Guard announced full control over it and its closure. According to these sites, the strait is “almost empty of ship traffic,” while CNN confirmed that since Monday only two tankers have crossed the strait.
On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a series of airstrikes on targets in Iran, including the capital Tehran, causing significant damage, civilian casualties, and the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several commanders of the Revolutionary Guard and the army.
Iran responded to the American‑Israeli attack, resulting in widespread impact across eight countries in the region: Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.