Donald Trump asserted on Wednesday that the United States could “keep” the Strait of Hormuz in his latest exasperated rant on social media.
The US president insisted that Washington has “total control” of the waterway after Tehran said the US must offer compensationbefore it considers reopening the strait.
Tehran has effectively closed the strait under threat of military action since the US and Israel attacked in February. Iran and Oman have recently been discussing a mechanism to reopen it under their management in a move that would hand even more leverage to Iran, with US talks to end the war still on ice.
In his post on Wednesday afternoon, Trump said: “The U.S.A. 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,” he added, before signing off: “Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer. Praise be to Allah! President DONALD J. TRUMP”
Catch up: Trump defends secret Air Force One plane swap amid growing backlash
President Donald Trump has defended a ruse that saw him stow away in an airport catering container to slip into another plane while Air Force One, filled with staff, and reporters, essentially worked as an unwitting decoy.
Trump was sent into the sky out of Turkey in the second plane after a recent summit in Turkey because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a “different plane” due to a threat from Iran.
”I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters on Tuesday. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”
Recap: Oil stockpiles ‘rapidly depleting’ despite Trump claiming ‘total control’ of Strait of Hormuz
A global energy watchdog has warned in a new report that oil stockpiles are “rapidly depleting”, as it urged for a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“Although the market is projected to return to surplus towards the end of this year, risks remain substantial and the urgency of reopening the Strait has increased, as previously available inventory buffers are rapidly depleting,” the International Energy Agency wrote in a new report.
The agency said that supply is expected to fall by 4.3 mb/d (million barrels per day) in 2026 due to losses in the Middle East and Russia. It comes despite Donald Trump’s unfounded claim that US forces “totally control the Strait of Hormuz”.
“Nobody else, only us [controls it],” he said. “At some point, maybe they'll do something and then they get blown away.”
US war impact: Inflation slowed last month as gas prices fell but costs remain elevated
Inflation in the United States slowed last month alongside a cooling in underlying price pressures, indicating that elevated oil and gas costs driven by the Iran war have had a limited effect on wider economic prices so far.
According to Labor Department data released Wednesday, consumer prices grew 3.4% year-over-year in July, representing a minor decrease from June's 3.5% rate. Inflation remains above its pre-war level of 2.4% recorded in February. Month-over-month, prices edged up by only 0.1% between June and July.
The latest:
Watch: Trump addresses plane switch on Secret Service instructions
Full report: Oil price moves higher as insurers hold back FTSE
The FTSE 100 closed lower on Tuesday with gains in oil stocks, amid ongoing uncertainty in the Middle East, offset by caution ahead of US inflation data and weak insurers.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 18.31 points, 0.2%, at 10,844.19.
The FTSE 250 ended up 55.21 points, 0.2%, at 24,799.75, while the Aim All-Share closed up 3.19 points, 0.4%, at 799.57.
Oil prices pushed up once more, touching 90 dollars (£66) a barrel early in the session, with the US and Iran appearing to not make much progress towards a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Read our full update on oil prices here:
Gulf oil spill fast becoming worst in years, agencies warn
A vast oil spill in the Gulf is quickly becoming one of the world’s worst in years after being allowed to spread almost unchecked for weeks, according to international agencies, satellite imagery and environmental groups.
The slick off the coast of Oman from a grounded tanker carrying Russian crude had reportedly reached the mainland by Wednesday, the UN’s shipping agency said.
The slick now covers an area of more than 2,000 square km, said John Amos, an oil spill specialist who reviewed satellite imagery obtained by Reuters.
The Caroline Bezengi, carrying an estimated 800,000 barrels of Russian oil and under international sanctions, ran aground on June 30 at an Omani island that is part of a marine nature reserve.
The ship first reported difficulties off Yemen on June 8. Maritime sources said a blast appeared to have occurred aboard the Caroline Bezengi.
No party has claimed an attack, but the vessel was navigating two separate wars on its journey from Russia to India.
Karoline Leavitt quits job as White House press secretary, Trump announces
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping down from her role at the end of August, a surprise announcement after her return to the White House less than a month ago following maternity leave.
Leavitt “will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect,” President Donald Trump wrote Wednesday on Truth Social.
Trump’s combative spokesperson will be one of the president’s “top outside advisors,” he added, “and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy History, and conclusively win the Midterm Elections.”
Desperate US sailors trying to jump overboard on extended Middle East deployment, families say
Desperate sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln have tried to jump overboard during an extended deployment in the Middle East, their families say.
The aircraft carrier, crewed by around 5,000 sailors and Marines, has been deployed since November 21 but more lately has been supporting U.S. military operations in the war with Iran. The deployment had been expected to end in May but has been extended with no current return date, families told The Military Times.
Annabelle Loma, the wife of a sailor serving on the Abraham Lincoln, told the publication her husband is now on medical hold after trying to jump from the carrier.
Trump’s secret escape from Air Force One turns into memes
President Donald Trump’s covert departure from Turkey aboard an aircraft other than Air Force One has triggered a wave of AI-generated memes and jokes online.
The president quietly left the country on a military aircraft on 8 July, even as the White House maintained that he was traveling aboard Air Force One, The Washington Post reported Monday.
An elaborate maneuver, also reported by The New York Times, quickly became fodder for social media users, who imagined the president squeezed into everything from a catering cart to a laundry bin.
Here’s the latest:
Just 29% of expected midterm voters say they approve of Trump’s handling of Iran
A cable TV polling expert claims that numbers from two surveys conducted two years apart show just how deeply President Donald Trump has disappointed America's voters when it comes to Iran.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said Tuesday that a July 2024 poll of people who were extremely motivated to vote in that year’s presidential election found that 53 percent were confident Trump would be able to handle the situation in Iran, according to a video clip posted online.
But a July poll of people extremely motivated to vote in November's midterm elections shows that just 29 percent now approve of how Trump is actually handling Iran, Enten said.
