CENTCOM vows round-the-clock push to keep Hormuz shipping open

US Central Command said Wednesday that its forces are working around the clock to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to commercial shipping. In a post on X, CENTCOM added that it is strictly enforcing what it called an ironclad naval blockade against Iran.

The command said it is also coordinating with US interagency partners to stop the IRGC from using land routes and the Caspian Sea to move advanced weapons systems, dual-use technology, sanctioned materials and illegal revenue streams. The land side is proving harder: the New York Times reported Wednesday, citing Iraqi and US officials, that Washington has spent weeks pressing Turkey, Iraq and Pakistan to close their border crossings and join a land blockade, and those governments are wary of a decision they fear would hurt them. The US has formed Task Force Iron in response.

President Donald Trump told a National Veterans Day ceremony in Arlington, Washington DC, on Wednesday that America did not start a war with Iran, accusing Tehran of waging one against the US since 1979. He said Iran should have been taken care of a long time ago, and that while the US won the conflict, his administration wants a total victory rather than a 93% one. He added that he hopes the US will not have to destroy any more of that country.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Wednesday that the US had asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to speak with Iran about arranging direct negotiations, without giving further detail. He repeated Tehran's position that it will retaliate if attacked again, saying Trump will face another defeat if hostilities resume, and insisted Washington must fulfil our seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming talks.

In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said it is up to Iran alone to decide what it does with its enriched uranium, calling the material Iranian property whose presence on Iranian soil does not breach the country's obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. She also described the United Kingdom's talk of wanting more direct military-to-military contacts with Russia as surprising.