The Strait of Hormuz is closed only to Israel, the United States and their allies. The rest can pass freely, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, Reuters reported, quoted by BNR.
"In fact, the Strait of Hormuz is open. It is closed only to tankers and vessels belonging to our enemies. Those who attack us and their allies," Araghchi said in an interview with the American cable TV MS Now.
He added that he had no problem with the newly elected Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei. His statement came in response to claims by US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who said yesterday that Khamenei had been injured and disfigured.
Meanwhile, Fars news agency reported that at least 15 people were killed in a US-Israeli strike on a factory in the city of Isfahan, central Iran. The factory produced heaters and refrigerators.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned the United States to withdraw its industrial enterprises from the region and urged people to stay away from factories in which the United States has stakes, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media.
The warning comes after strikes in the past 48 hours that killed several civilian workers at non-military factories in Iran, Iran's Press TV reported.
At the same time, it was reported that work at the Lanaz refinery in the northern Iraqi city of Erbil has been suspended until a fire caused by a drone strike on Saturday is extinguished, provincial authorities said.
The work will remain suspended until the extent of the damage is assessed, officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Iraqi Kurdistan province told Reuters.
The Israeli army said it had killed two senior Iranian intelligence officers in a strike in Tehran, just days after they replaced the former head of the directorate who was killed on February 28, AFP reported, citing NOVA.
The Israeli sources identified the two as Abdullah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, who held senior positions in the intelligence directorate of Khatam al-Anbiya - the central command of Iran's military operation. The Israeli army said the two were killed on March 13. They succeeded Saleh Asadi, head of Khatam al-Anbiya's intelligence department, after he was killed on the first day of hostilities.
“Following the elimination of the head of the Intelligence Directorate, Saleh Asadi, during the initial strike of Operation Roaring Lion, Jalali and Shariat were appointed to replace him,“ the army said. “The two were close to the leadership of the Iranian terrorist regime,” the statement added, specifying that Khatam al-Anbiya's intelligence branch is responsible for analyzing the information. "The intelligence is presented to senior Iranian security officials during regular assessment meetings, based on which the war against the state of Israel is waged," it added.
The Israeli military noted that several senior Iranian officials were killed in the initial wave of strikes carried out jointly with the US on February 28, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.