For more now on the status of the Strait of Hormuz. And if it's really open to all ships,

we turn to Ian Ralby. He's president of Auxilium Worldwide. That's a nonprofit organization that

focuses on ocean governance and maritime law and security. And welcome back to the News Hour.

Let's just start with what we heard from both Iranian and U.S. officials. They're saying

the Strait of Hormuz is open. What are you seeing and hearing? Is it really open to all commercial traffic?

Well, I think we keep hearing that, but it means something very different in practice than what most

of us would want. Completely open would suggest that there would be free flow of maritime commerce,

uninhibited, unimpeded.

That is not what is happening at the moment. Iran's own conditions on the opening were that the

vessels that wanted to come through would have to get permission from the IRGC and and follow their

own prescribed transit routes, which route vessels around Larek Island near to the Iranian coast.

And so this is not a free and open Strait of Hormuz the way most of us would want it to be.

It is very much still within the control of Iran.

And what we've seen today is a complete difference between the rhetoric and the reality.

The vessels that tried to get through and started moving towards the straight and seemed to be on their way to passing through for

the first time in weeks and months were actually hailed and turned back for lack of permission

from Iran. And so the rhetoric and the reality are very different at the moment. And I think we have to be very

careful not to get overly excited by what we're hearing from either Tehran or Washington.

I just want to make real for people what you describe there. We have a map I want to show folks

showing those traffic routes and transit routes. In yellow there is the route that was open

to all commercial vessels before the war began.

That blue route, you see, the more narrow, restricted route, as you described it, Ian, is the current route, the designated coordinated route that Iranian officials have set up.

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