Iran War News LIVE Update: Oil 'normally' passing through southern route through Strait of Hormuz? Tehran disputes US claims

Iran War News LIVE Updates: Iranian state television, citing an informed security source in Tehran, disputed US claims that the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz was operating normally. The source questioned why Washington was pressuring Iran to conclude the deal if oil traffic through the waterway was flowing as claimed.

They told state-run Press TV on Saturday that US claims about the volume of oil passing through the southern route were “contrary to the reality on the ground” and were part of what the source described as a wider psychological campaign aimed at influencing global energy prices.

According to the source, Washington is trying to portray the southern route through Hormuz as functioning smoothly, while presenting the northern route marked by Iran as ineffective.

The source said Iran’s efforts to keep the strait closed are continuing, pointing to attacks on vessels accused of violating Iranian regulations and on tankers that change course after receiving warnings.

Iran on deal with Oman: Hormuz remains closed until…

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday that Iran and Oman had reached an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz, but that it would not be implemented until the United States fulfilled its obligations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, Iranian media reported.

“The Strait of Hormuz remains closed and every vessel passing through the strait does so in coordination with Iran,” Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday.

“We will continue with our own defensive measures and are prepared for any scenario,” he added.

In the recent visits of Qatari and Pakistani officials to Iran, Gharibabadi said their efforts were aimed at finding out whether there was a possibility of returning to the obligations under the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

Iraq is trying to “be a bridge” between Iran and the US

Iraq wants to serve as a bridge between Iran and the United States to help the two sides reach an agreement that will protect the interests of the wider region, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s security adviser Qasim al-Araj said on Saturday.

“We have good relations with Iran and the United States and we are trying to be a bridge,” al-Araji told Al Jazeera. He also said that Iran emphasized the need to remove extremist groups from Iraq.

Stay tuned for LIVE updates on the US-Iran war.