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Trump Says US Has 'Total Control' of Strait of Hormuz

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US President Donald Trump said Wednesday the US has "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz and expects to maintain control.

"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," Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Trump said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps lacks the military strength to challenge the US blockade, claiming the country has no navy or air force and that its remaining soldiers are unpaid.

"Their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing, and their 'leadership' is uncertain, at best," Trump said.

Trump also said Iran faces severe economic problems, claiming the country has "no money", while inflation has reached 300% and continues to worsen.

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Hormuz Traffic Remains Subdued as Security Risks Persist, Oil Flows Recover

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Oil & Energy

US Oil Update: Crude Settles Higher as Iran Hardens Stance on Hormuz Deal Amid Ship Attacks

Crude futures settled higher in after-hours trading on Tuesday as fading prospects for an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz collided with fresh security incidents in the strategic waterway.Front-month West Texas Intermediate crude futures climbed by 1.3% to $83.23 per barrel, while Brent futures advanced by 1.9% to $89.36/bbl.Bjarne Schieldrop, chief commodities analyst at SEB Research, said that Iran has made it clear that an agreement with Oman does not lead to a reopening of Hormuz before the US complies with the MOU signed between the two sides earlier this summer.Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that securing the Hormuz requires an end to US aggression, including the blockade of Iranian ports.The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council also said the key chokepoint would remain closed unless the US meets Tehran's conditions.President Trump, on the other hand, alleged that Iran was an unfair negotiator, while describing some of his current options in the conflict, "just bop along" and let Tehran fail economically or hit them "really, really hard," according to media reports.Saxo Bank strategists said that uncertainty over a US-Iran deal to end the conflict and reopen the Hormuz has grown after Trump demanded compensation for victims of Iranian-backed conflicts, responding to Tehran's reparations claims.Fueling bullish sentiment, the UK Maritime Trade Operations reported two new attacks on ships in the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, highlighting the widening threat to maritime trade.Three crew members were killed in a suspected attack in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, while a container ship was hit by a missile off the Pakistan coast, UKMTO said.On the supply side, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that crude flows out of the Arabian Gulf have risen to about 15 million barrels per day as shipping through the Hormuz recovers with the help of the US military and Gulf allies.The seven-day average for oil moving through the Strait of Hormuz has climbed to almost 9 million b/d, Wright said, while another 5 million to 7 million b/d are being exported through newly upgraded pipelines and facilities that bypass the strategic waterway.The Energy Information Administration, in its August Short-Term Energy Outlook, projected that US crude inventories should remain below the 2021/25 five-year low through the end of 2026 as refiners maintain high runs and net imports stay low.The agency said that US crude net imports fell below 1 million b/d in April and May as crude exports hit record highs while imports declined, putting pressure on domestic stocks.

Oil & Energy

Nigeria Unveils Framework to Unlock $50 Billion in Deep Offshore Investment

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