Iran remains resolute regarding the strait, while Trump urges Americans to come to terms with elevated gas prices
Iran urged the U.S. to acknowledge its defeat, while President Donald Trump condemned Tehran as “very evil” and warned Americans to prepare for persistently high fuel prices due to the ongoing conflict.
Progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway remained stalled, with no indication that the warring parties were making strides toward resolving the conflict that the U.S. and Israel initiated on February 28.
This strait will be opened and closed solely under Iran’s authority. As long as you refuse to acknowledge the reality of defeat and persist in your fantasies, Iran will maintain the blockade,” stated Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi in a post on X early Saturday.
U.S. gasoline prices have risen by 29% compared to last year, and Iran is also experiencing the effects.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that Iran has not made a decision regarding the resumption of talks with the U.S. In an interview published on Saturday with Iranian news outlet Shahrara News, he stated that Washington must fulfill certain conditions regarding the strait for shipping to recommence in the waterway that previously managed one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.
Trump encouraged Americans to embrace marginally higher gasoline prices as the situation with Iran persists.
During a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, he stated that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is justified to ensure that “a very evil country” does not acquire a nuclear weapon, which is one of the president’s articulated reasons for the war.
In a trend that has fueled inflation and left voters disheartened, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. reached approximately $4.08 on Friday, marking a 29% increase from the previous year, as reported by the American Automobile Association.
Trump, a Republican, ran for reelection with a commitment to reduce energy costs, while Democrats are aiming to leverage the consequences of the war as a focal point in the upcoming November congressional elections.
Crude oil futures increased by $1 a barrel on Friday. Benchmark Brent futures were poised for a weekly increase of 6.0%, while West Texas Intermediate was set to rise by 5.4%.
The Strait of Hormuz cannot be taken by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by giving an order or by making an election speech,” Gharibabadi stated.
Despite Iran’s defiant tone, there were indications of an economic impact there as well.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in comments made on state television, attributed the rising inflation to a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions imposed on Iran’s oil exports.
NO CRUDE OIL VESSELS TRANSITING STRAIT
Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent both committed to imposing greater financial harm on Iran. Bessent informed Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” program on Thursday that he would announce further measures against Iran next week.
Tehran refers to its regulation of strait traffic as a blockade, a term that Washington applies to its threats against Iranian vessels departing from their ports.
What we’re doing is a tremendous service for the world, not just for ourselves … and we are truly excelling at it,” Trump stated, noting that a 260-day deployment by a U.S. aircraft carrier in support of the war effort was “far from sufficient.
On Friday, only two vessels navigated the Strait of Hormuz, with no visible crude oil shipments, as reported by ship-tracking firm Kpler. Some ships may cross the strait undetected with their transponders off, but the numbers are far from the over 130 ships that passed through daily prior to the war.
Vessels that attempt to navigate the strait without obtaining Iranian permission face the threat of missile or drone strikes. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the United Arab Emirates reported that two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the strait on Thursday evening. Additionally, the Emirati state news agency WAM indicated that another vessel was targeted on Friday.
A bulk carrier was hit in the hull by an unidentified projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. They reported on Saturday that the crew is safe, but they have not provided a damage assessment, and the environmental impact remains unclear.
A proposed June agreement to conclude the conflict has fallen apart.
“We did not have a ceasefire initially that we would now seek to extend,” Araqchi stated. “We experienced ‘the end of the war’ and now find ourselves in a new situation.”
Attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have reignited worries about an expanding regional conflict. Yemen’s internationally recognized government reported that the Houthis launched six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, resulting in the deaths of four civilians.
The Houthi-run SABA news agency reported, citing a military source, that the group had launched a drone strike on an Aramco facility located in the Saudi city of Najran.
