CENTCOM: Strait of Hormuz Open, Naval Blockade on Iran Continues

US Central Command commander Brad Cooper said Friday the Strait of Hormuz remains open to shipping while the naval blockade on Iran stays in effect.

• Cooper said some 400 commercial ships transited the strait in the past seven days and that US forces helped ship over 100 million barrels of crude.
• Cooper accused Iran's Revolutionary Guard of targeting commercial vessels, citing the IMO that over 20 civilian sailors have been killed since February.
• Cooper said the blockade has halted Iran's sea exports and imports except permitted humanitarian aid and prevented crude exports worth at least $25 billion.
• Cooper said the US froze roughly $350 million in cryptocurrency assets and that over 50,000 US troops are deployed in the Middle East.