Trump declared that oil shipments through the volatile Strait of Hormuz are back to pre-war levels
Highlights
- President Trump intensified pressure on Iran with AI-driven posts on Truth Social, threatening the regime
- Trump claimed oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz returned to pre-war levels amid ongoing conflict
- Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global oil supplies and causing price concerns
The United States military may not have launched any new attack on Iran over the weekend, but President Donald Trump stepped up his pressure campaign with a bombardment of AI-driven posts on his Truth Social platform, declaring the obliteration of the Islamic Republic. The post projecting Uncle Sam's domination in the Middle East included a graphic on Iran's supposed collapsing oil exports, a threat to attack Tehran's economic lifeline on Kharg, and a map of the Middle East with Iran carved out in the outline of Trump's face.
In one of the posts, Trump declared that oil shipments through the volatile Strait of Hormuz are back to pre-war levels, with figures claiming oil volumes have recovered to 18 million barrels per day, compared with 20 million barrels per day before the conflict.
Iran has effectively shut down the crucial artery for global energy supplies, through which a fifth of the world's oil passes, in retaliation for the war Trump started along with Israel in late February. The shipping disruptions have been threatening to push up oil prices worldwide, with the Trump administration altering war goals to keep oil moving through the waterway while maintaining pressure on Iran.
Other graphics claimed Iran's oil exports are crashing, the country has hyperinflation, and its currency is destroyed, with a chart showing the rial weakening from around 900,000 per US dollar in early 2025 to more than 2.27 million per dollar in the latest figures shown.
One post showed the outline of Trump's side profile superimposed on a map of Iran, underscoring the increasingly personal tone in the US president's messaging over the conflict. He also shared a dramatic AI-generated image showing an aircraft bombing an oil well, with the caption, "Bye Bye, Kharg."
The latest barrage came days after Trump floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz as "Trump Strait" despite ongoing clashes with Iran -- then hours later implied he wasn't serious.
The US leader has been making a series of geographical name changes to international bodies in his second term, at least partly with the aim of trolling other countries. The latest suggestion came as Trump insisted the US had full control of the crucial waterway, even as fresh clashes raged there with Iran.
Iran's Warning
Iran, which has maintained its stranglehold on Hormuz despite Washington's counter-blockade of Iranian ports, met Trump's social media onslaught with defiance and threatened a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes.
Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war, said that "the era of proportionate responses has come to an end."
"Any aggression against Iran's interests and security will receive a faster, more intense, and more painful response," he added in a speech carried by state media.
Tehran's top security chief, meanwhile, said Iran would establish a "prohibited zone" near the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.
"This zone will start from the US Navy's blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf. Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list" of Iran, Mohsen Rezaei told State TV.
The US and Iran exchanged fire last week after the US military bombed Iranian targets after roughly a month of quiet.