At the same time as oil prices fall and commercial vessels increase their passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Abbas Araqchi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic, claimed that factors within the U.S. government are using the media to manipulate the energy market.

These remarks are being made while CENTCOM has announced that U.S. forces have helped ensure the safe passage of nearly 1,500 ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Report by Ardavan Rozbeh, a journalist for Iran International