Image for representation purposes only Iran has rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the United States has “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway remains under Iranian control and that vessels cannot pass without Tehran’s permission. Hossein Taeb, the recently appointed head of Iran’s paramilitary Basij Organisation, said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was under the “management and control” of the Islamic Republic and that Iran was continuing on its path in complete security, according to Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. Trump made his claim a day earlier on Truth Social, saying the United States had “total control” of the waterway. The Strait of Hormuz is a major route for global energy shipments. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the waterway. Iran says vessels need permission to pass Iran’s joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday that no vessel could pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran’s permission. It rejected U.S. claims about normal vessel traffic through the strait, calling them “lies and falsehoods” in a statement carried by Iranian state media. Iran effectively shut the waterway after the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began on Feb. 28. The United States later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports. Washington has said it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels travelling to and from non-Iranian ports. Iranian officials have repeatedly rejected the U.S. claim of control and have said Tehran intends to impose a toll system on the waterway. Behnam Saeedi, a member of Iran’s parliament and its National Security Commission, said Israeli ships would not be allowed to pass through the strait under any circumstances, whether during war or peacetime. He also said U.S. military vessels would be barred from passing through the waterway. Iran sets conditions for reopening Senior mil