“We have total control of the Strait of Hormuz, as you know, with our blockade. The blockade has been 100 percent effective nobody's been able to get through.”

Iran was charging for passage through the strait in the days around the statement, which is not what total control looks like. Just before he spoke, Iran advanced a traffic-management mechanism in the strait that included fees from commercial vessels passing through, with more than 1,500 vessels still stranded. Four days after the statement, Iran's foreign ministry said it charged no tolls but that services would be provided, including navigation assistance and environmental protection, which require charging fees. A draft agreement under discussion provided that Iran would immediately reopen the strait on signing and return traffic to pre-war conditions within 30 days, which presupposes that Iran controlled passage.

The blockade did work on its own terms, and that is the claim's best defence. Central Command said no ship entered or exited Iranian ports during the first 24 hours of the blockade, an operation involving more than 10,000 troops and over a dozen warships. The same account records the limit: vessels not engaging with Iranian ports remained free to navigate the Strait of Hormuz. At the same event he said the United States wanted the strait open and free, which is a request rather than a description of control.