US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The USA 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," he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing, and their 'Leadership' is uncertain, at best!" Trump continued. "They have No Money - Their country is “shot.” All they have is FAKE NEWS and 300% INFLATION, and getting worse! Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer."
"Praise be to Allah!" Trump concluded.
US has mine swept entire Strait of Hormuz, Trump tells reporters
Trump said on Monday that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz and had swept the strategic oil waterway for Iranian mines.
"Look, the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. "We've mine-swept the entire strait."
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six that day, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 vessels, shipping data showed, amid fading hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran.
Four commodity vessels, including two empty oil product tankers, entered the waterway, data from Kpler showed on Tuesday. Two vessels - a small tanker laden with liquefied petroleum gas and another carrying residual fuels - exited the Strait, the data showed.
In pre-war days, about 130 to 140 ships typically transited the strait.
Iran fears economic sanctions more than military strikes, Trump's UN envoy says
Iran is more afraid of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
“When they’re coming to the table with our negotiators, they are talking about cash, cash, cash. Because they’ll absorb the bombings," he said.
Trump also emphasized the economic pressure on Iran in a phone call with Axios on Sunday.
"We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he stated.
One US official told Axios that during active warfare, Tehran can temporarily avoid dealing with the economic consequences of the fighting. But as strikes have paused, it is forced to confront the reality of its economic situation, with no solution easily available.
Leo Feierberg Better, Esther Davis, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.