- Donald Trump claimed that the US has total control over the Strait of Hormuz and "will keep it"
- Trump praised the US naval blockade, calling it a "wall of steel" against Iran
- Iran is demanding a lifting of the US blockade, unfreezing assets to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that America has control over the Strait of Hormuz and that he will "keep it". In a post on Truth Social, he praised the success of the US naval blockade and claimed that it is being touted as a "wall of steel" and that Iran cannot do anything about it.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the US controls the strategic waterway, which is important for the flow of energy and other commodities through the Middle East, despite the Islamic Republic's fierce rejection of the assertion.
In fact, Iran intends to impose a toll system and has repeatedly struck ships it accuses of attempting to circumvent its preferred route in response to the US war launched by Trump on February 28.
Yet again, Trump wrote, "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it! Our naval blockade is being called, by everyone, "a wall of steel", and there is nothing Iran can do about it."
The Republican leader asserted that Iran has no Navy and Air Force and that their soldiers are unpaid. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, he said, is "decimated and fleeing".
Trump ended his post by saying that Iran is no longer the "bully" of the Middle East and said, "Praise be to Allah!"
Iran's Conditions To Open Strait Of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Iran has said that it would not allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz until the US naval blockade is lifted, its assets are unfrozen, the sanctions are called off and the US compensates it for wartime damage.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Sunday that their strategy was to maintain their blockade "until the enemy accepts all our conditions... the strait is now actually a theatre of war for us and not just a waterway".
Trump's Plan To "Low-Key" Negotiations With Iran
The closure of Hormuz has driven up prices for American voters, creating a political headache for Trump as November's midterm elections near, but the US leader was optimistic in a conversation with Axios on Sunday.
"We are low-keying it," Trump said of his approach in an interview.
"We are only semi-negotiating with them," was quoted as saying. "We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money."
"It will work out," he added. "It's like a chess game."
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said earlier that Tehran was only "exchanging messages" with the US through intermediaries.
