NEW YORK, August 12. /TASS/. The number of vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz every day in July was five times less than what it was at the start of the conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday citing maritime digital tracking data.
According to WSJ, an average of 26 vessels managed to cross the waterway per day in July, while more than 130 vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the start of the US war against Iran.
The publication also noted that on August 11, 14 vessels managed to cross the Strait of Hormuz with 11 of them using the so-called Iranian corridor.
"Ship-tracking data shows that just 14 vessels on Tuesday crossed a waterway that routinely handled more than 130 a day before the war," according to the WSJ. "Eleven of those ships took the route administered by Iran."
US President Donald Trump announced earlier in the day that the United States military will retain control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump announced on his Truth Social network page: "The USA has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘a wall of steel,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it."
"They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing, and their ‘Leadership’ is uncertain," the US president added.
The United States and Israel began a war with Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon.
However, in the early morning hours of July 8, the US resumed large-scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the terms of the agreements reached on the Strait of Hormuz.