Trump Claims U.S. Controls Hormuz as Reparations Dispute Deepens Iran Standoff
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy now has full control of the Strait of Hormuz after clearing mines from the strategic waterway, as tensions with Iran intensified over competing demands for war reparations. Trump said the strait was effectively open and claimed Washington was currently the only side with full control of the route.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump described the U.S. military presence in the area as a “steel wall.” He acknowledged that Iran continued to lay mines sporadically but said U.S. forces were able to detect and remove them. Washington has maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports since mid-April, while Tehran continues to insist that Hormuz will not be fully reopened until its conditions are met.
Iran has demanded that the United States lift its naval blockade and sanctions, withdraw American forces from the region, pay war reparations, and release frozen Iranian assets. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also called for an end to U.S. attacks on Iran’s regional allies. Talks between Iran and Oman over a shipping arrangement have continued, but Tehran has stressed that those discussions would not automatically result in the full reopening of the strait.
Trump responded by turning Iran’s demand for compensation back on Tehran. In a Truth Social post, he said Iran should instead compensate the United States for Americans killed or wounded in attacks linked to Tehran, including roadside bombings. He also referred to Iranian protesters who he said had been killed by the country’s government over several decades. The competing reparations demands have added another obstacle to already difficult diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran.
At the same time, Trump has indicated that the United States is not in a hurry to launch additional military strikes, suggesting instead that continued economic pressure could further weaken Iran. Tehran has rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are crippling its economy. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Washington repeatedly resorts to sanctions when diplomacy fails and intensifies them when they do not produce the intended result.
Uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remains a major concern for global energy markets, as the route carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil before the conflict. As long as Washington and Tehran remain divided over sanctions, the naval blockade, reparations, and shipping security, geopolitical risk premiums are likely to continue supporting elevated oil prices.
Source : Newsmaker.id
