Iran rejects Hormuz Strait threat as blockade squeezes oil

Iran rejected President Trump’s Hormuz Strait claim as tanker traffic slowed to two ships on Friday and war talks neared a Monday deadline.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi answered Trump early Saturday in a post on X, after the president said in New York that he could soon designate the waterway as US territory. Gharibabadi wrote that the strait could not be taken by tweet, aircraft carrier, executive order or campaign language.

Iran ties strait to command

The Iranian official said Washington should “accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions,” language that framed control of the route as a sovereignty issue rather than a bargaining chip. He added that “This strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command,” according to his post.

The Strait of Hormuz handled about one-fifth of global oil flows before the war, making the passage one of the main pressure points in the energy system. With traffic now reduced to a fraction of the 130 to 140 vessels that typically crossed in peacetime, the blockade reaches refiners, tanker operators and fuel consumers well beyond the Gulf.

The conflict began on February 28, according to the source account, with Trump citing Iran’s nuclear program as one reason for military action. A memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June set a 60-day negotiating period, but that window ends Monday with few direct negotiations reported.

Trump links claim to victory

Speaking Friday at a police academy in Nassau County, New York, Trump said Iran was being “very badly defeated.” He told law enforcement officers that once victory was secured, “pretty soon, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”

Trump also asked Americans to tolerate “a tiny little bit more” in gasoline costs, tying higher pump prices to his stated goal of preventing “a very evil country” from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The argument sets up a domestic trade-off: drivers absorb energy costs while the White House claims a security gain.

Iran’s answer seeks to invert that framing. Tehran is presenting the same pressure point as proof that the United States cannot force a settlement without accepting Iranian control over the strait’s opening and closure.

Two vessels cross Friday

Ship-tracking firm Kpler said only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, compared with 130 to 140 in normal peacetime traffic. Its analysis showed no visible crude oil shipments through the passage that day.

Oil markets have steadied from the initial wartime spike, but prices remain above prewar levels and moved higher again Friday, according to market data cited in the source account. Crude futures rose by $1 a barrel, while Brent futures were on course for a 6.0% weekly gain.

For importers, the constraint is not only the quoted oil price. Reduced crossings can disrupt cargo timing, insurance coverage and refinery scheduling, even when futures markets are calmer than they were at the start of the war.

Monday deadline narrows options

If the mid-June framework is extended and direct talks resume, the mechanism for relief would be maritime access: more tanker movement could ease energy-price pressure, give Trump a diplomatic off-ramp and reduce risk premiums for shipping and refining companies.

If the Monday deadline passes without a channel, the blockade would likely keep the macro risk centered on fuel inflation, leave the White House facing higher domestic price sensitivity and force the energy sector to manage cargo delays around the Gulf.

A separate path would open if Trump tries to formalize the US claim he described Friday. Such a declaration would not move tankers by itself; any practical effect would depend on naval posture, insurers’ willingness to cover voyages and whether Iran continues enforcing the blockade at sea.

The immediate test is therefore less rhetorical than operational. The number of ships entering the strait after Monday will show whether the negotiating deadline has changed the balance of pressure, or merely marked another missed interval in a war already reshaping energy trade.