Iran is pressing the United States to acknowledge what it calls a battlefield reality, even as President Donald Trump denounced Tehran as “very evil” and warned Americans to brace for higher fuel costs tied to the war.
Any momentum toward peace talks—and normal oil tanker movement through the strategic Strait of Hormuz—remained frozen, with no indication the combatants were edging toward an end to the conflict the US and Israel launched on 28 February.
“This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, meanwhile, said Iran had yet to decide whether to return to negotiations with Washington. In an interview published on Saturday by Iranian outlet Shahrara News, he said the US would have to meet conditions related to the strait before shipping could resume through the waterway, which carried one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.
President Trump urged Americans to tolerate a modest uptick in gasoline prices as fighting continues.
Speaking at a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, he said paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was worth it to prevent “a very evil country” from obtaining a nuclear weapon, one of the reasons he has cited for the war.
“After we finish defeating Iran … pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Mr Trump said.
Throughout the conflict, the president has toggled between threats of escalation and confident claims that a peace agreement is close.
US President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices
US gasoline up 29%, Iran also feels impact
The fuel squeeze has fed inflation and frustrated voters. The average US price for a gallon of gasoline stood at about $4.08 on Friday, up 29% from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
Mr Trump campaigned for re-election promising lower energy prices, while Democrats are looking to make the war’s economic blowback a campaign issue ahead of November congressional elections.
Oil markets also moved higher. Crude oil futures gained $1 a barrel on Friday, with benchmark Brent LCOc1 futures poised for a weekly jump of 6.0% and West Texas Intermediate CLc1 up 5.4% for the week.
In Tehran, officials have sharpened their language as efforts to secure a lasting end to the war appear stuck.
“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech,” Mr Gharibabadi said.
Even with Iran’s defiant posture, there were indications the country is absorbing economic pain.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking on state television, attributed high inflation to a US blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports.
No crude oil vessels transiting strait
Mr Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent each vowed to intensify the financial pressure on Iran. Mr Bessent told Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” on Thursday that additional measures would be announced next week.
Tehran describes its control of traffic through the strait as a blockade—the same term Washington uses for its threat against Iranian vessels attempting to leave their ports.
“What we’re doing is a great service for the world, not only for ourselves … and we’re really doing a great job,” Mr Trump said.
Only two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, with no crude oil cargoes visible, according to analysis by ship-tracking firm Kpler. Some vessels may still slip through undetected by switching off transponders, but the tally is far below the more than 130 ships a day that crossed before the war.
Ships that attempt to use the strait without Iranian approval risk being hit by missiles or drone attacks.
The UAE accused Iran of striking a third vessel operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as it moved through the strait on Friday, Emirati state news agency WAM reported, after blaming Iran for two other incidents involving ADNOC ships on Thursday evening.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said a bulk carrier’s hull was hit by an unknown projectile in the strait on Friday, though it was not immediately clear whether the report referred to the same incident involving the ADNOC vessel.
A tentative June agreement to end the war has fallen apart.
“We did not have a ceasefire in the first place that we would now want to extend,” Mr Araqchi said. “We had ‘the end of the war,’ and now there is a new situation.”
Concerns about a broader regional conflict also resurfaced after attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis launched six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians.
