Same day, the IRGC says it hit an LPG carrier called the NV Sunshine for taking what it called an illegal route near the strait. And US Central Command disabled a separate ship, the Ocean Molica, for allegedly trying to break the American blockade.
No response yet from the US or Iran's government to Sayyari's actual words.
That's everything we know.
Why this mattersSo why does this matter? Because of where it's happening.
The Strait of Hormuz is tiny. And about a fifth of the world's oil and gas sails through it.
It's been the flashpoint of this whole war. The US and Israel started bombing Iran back in February.
And here's the strange part. Iran says it fully controls the strait. The US says that's not true.
CENTCOM says it's been running a naval blockade on Iranian ports since July. It says it has disabled four commercial ships and turned back 135 more.
So you've got two militaries saying they control the same stretch of water. At the same time.
And Sayyari has said almost this exact thing before. About two weeks ago, he said Iran had complete control of the strait and said Iran's preparations were finished.
Iran's army chief of staff and its foreign minister have separately said the strait stays shut until the US meets Iran's conditions. They say Iran will hit back firmer than before if attacked again.
So this isn't new. It's Iran repeating itself. But it's landing on a day when ships are actually getting hit on both sides.
Tanker attacks have picked up too. Media reports count at least 12 attacks or harassment incidents on tankers and gas carriers in one week at the end of September and start of October. That's the highest weekly number since the war began.
Here's the problem with Sayyari's warning. His trigger is vague. He said "if something happens against Iran again" — and never said what that means.
Nobody has reported any sign of a new US or Israeli strike being planned.
So what don't we know? Whether this is Iran signalling something new, or just saying the same thing again. There's no reply yet from the US or CENTCOM. And nobody can say for certain which side is actually in control of the strait right now.
