The United States military command that oversees the Middle East (CENTCOM) has claimed that two of its ships have passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a claim swiftly denied by Iran. The ships, the USS Frank E Peterson and USS Michael Murphy, were part of a mission to clear the strait of sea mines laid by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). US Admiral Brad Cooper hailed the ships' presence as a turning point in the US and Israeli war against Iran, which began on February 28. The Iranian military denied the US statement, stating that the initiative for the passage and movement of any vessel is in the hands of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Despite some positive signs during talks, both sides have offered diverging accounts of the conditions for the negotiations.