Trump asserts U.S. control of Strait of Hormuz amid sharp decline in ship traffic
President Donald Trump reiterated that the United States has total control over the Strait of Hormuz, even as daily vessel transits fell to a weekly low of eight ships.
President Donald Trump posted on his social-media platform on Wednesday that the United States maintains "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and that the ongoing blockade of Iranian ports is a "wall of steel" that Iran cannot overcome. He added that Iran is "all talk and no action" and concluded with a religious exclamation.
Despite the claim, traffic through the strategic waterway has dropped dramatically. Reuters reported that only eight vessels passed the strait on Tuesday, far below the pre-conflict average of 130-140 ships per day and the recent ten-day average of about 12 ships, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.
Iran has continued to assert its influence, stating it will not allow full traffic until the U.S. naval blockade, sanctions, and asset freezes are lifted. Tehran is also holding talks with Oman on future management of the strait, talks that do not involve Washington.
The broader conflict, which began on February 28 with a U.S.–Israel operation against Iran, has seen a cease-fire memorandum dissolve in mid-July and sporadic fighting continue, including a U.S. Navy helicopter incident involving a Panama-flagged cargo vessel. Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have opened a new front in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, killing six people in an attack on an Egyptian-owned ship.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it is working to bring the parties back to negotiations and prevent actions that could undermine the peace process.
Analysts noted the discrepancy between Trump’s statements and the on-ground realities. > "Unfortunately, the determination to demonstrate that the United States is ‘winning’ at all costs is creating a virtual reality that prevents both the administration and the president from making decisions based on the actual situation on the ground," wrote Dennis Citrinowicz, senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies. He added that Iran still possesses sufficient capability to disrupt maritime traffic.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright claimed that oil flows from the strait were nearing pre-war levels, citing a seven-day average of almost 9 million barrels per day. However, analysts such as Brett Erickson of Obsidian Risk Advisors disputed the figure, saying there is no evidence to support that volume.