U.S. Central Command said Monday it had redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two under the blockade of Iranian ports. [1] Friday publishes no newer official increment the paper can cite. The count still holds as the last public tape.

Thursday's blockade hold already refused to treat a Muscat draft as a stand-down. Axios and AP are arguing over Khamenei's signature. [2] CENTCOM is still counting hulls turned from Iranian berths. Those are different desks.

Monday's increment sat above Sunday's 35. [3] A climbing redirect tally is enforcement, not a reopening. Humanitarian exceptions and boarded inspections are still the verbs. Trump can talk last-chance diplomacy. The Navy's last numbered sentence is forty-four.

Readers who treat a Friday announcement rumor as a lifted blockade will misread both the strait and the command. Until CENTCOM posts a new figure, the politics story is the old count still running.

The Financial Times, cited by ISW, said Washington would lift the naval blockade if Iran reopened the strait. [2] That is a reported bargain, not an order. Forty-four redirected ships remain the last number with a date stamp.

Friday is still a climbing redirect tally, not a reopening. The Navy's last numbered sentence is still forty-four.

-- SAMUEL CRANE, Washington