Editor's note: this story was translated from the original VOA Persian article.
The commander of the U.S. Central Command known as CENTCOM operating in the Middle East says Iran's Revolutionary Guard naval forces which once had a near constant presence in the strategic Strait of Hormuz have disappeared.
Admiral Brad Cooper was speaking on Friday after visiting the region earlier this week where over 10,000 U.S. forces are enforcing naval blockade on Iranian ports and oil terminals.
"When I flew over the strait, I saw dozens of commercial vessels transiting all types, cargo, crude oil, liquid natural gas, or LNG. And I also saw our U.S. assets in the air and on the water," he said in a video published by CENTCOM Friday.
"Here's what I didn't see. I didn't see the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] out there, at all."
He said the U.S.-designated terror force's decades-long control of the waters and its harassment and threats, and seizure of commercial shipping has been decimated by the precision strikes of the U.S. military which sank Iran's navy vessels.
"They were not out there because Iran's navy is all at the bottom of the sea," he said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard has long insisted it's in control of the strait and warned that any vessel attempting to pass the strait without prior approval from Tehran could be targeted.
On Friday, Iran's navy warned commercial vessels that the southern route close to Oman's coastline is "contaminated with mines," and threatened to hold the vessels’ owners and crews "responsible for using it," according to Iranian state media.
Iran's state news agency on Friday reported its navy destroyed a U.S. navy boat and that two tankers hit sea mines in the eastern side of Hormuz.
CENTCOM on Friday denied IRGC claims that it destroyed a U.S. military sea drone in the Strait of Hormuz.
"This claim is FALSE, just like many other IRGC lies this week," CENTCOM said in a post on X.
"All U.S. military unmanned surface vessels in the Middle East are accounted for, including a squadron of advanced sea drones on patrol in the Strait of Hormuz supporting CENTCOM's defensive layer."
The British maritime organization, UKMTO late Friday reported that a vessel has been hit by an unknown projectile on the port side, resulting fire. The incident occurred 40 nautical miles south of Lavan Island, Iran. Crews are safe and there is no reported environmental impact at this time, UKMTO said.
Cooper said the U.S. military has helped nations in the Persian Gulf export over 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since the summer.
In contrast, he pointed out that due to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, Iran has been unable to export any oil since the U.S. reimposed the blockade in mid-July.