US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said the United States is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.
“They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, their remaining soldiers are unpaid, the IRGC is decimated and fleeing, and their ‘Leadership‘ is uncertain, at best!” Trump continued. “They have No Money – Their country is “shot.” All they have is FAKE NEWS and 300% INFLATION, and getting worse! Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer.”
“Praise be to Allah!” Trump concluded.
Israeli officials believe blockade is wrecking Iranian economy
Israel is highly satisfied with the continued US maritime blockade of Iran, assessing that it is having a dramatic impact on the Iranian economy.
Two Israeli officials told The Jerusalem Post that during a Security Cabinet meeting about a week ago, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told ministers: “The blockade of Iran is highly effective. The economic crisis there is getting worse.”
One of the blockade’s most significant effects has been on Iran’s ports and maritime trade routes. Because the Iranian economy depends heavily on those routes to import and export goods, raw materials, fuel, and other essential products, the blockade has caused sustained disruptions to port operations and supply chains.
The growing difficulty of exporting goods is also expected to worsen Iran’s shortage of foreign currency, making it increasingly difficult for Tehran to finance imports of essential products, including fuel, food, and industrial raw materials, even when those goods are brought into the country overland.
Experts estimate that Iran’s economy could contract by a staggering 5.6% this year, which would mark its sharpest decline since 1988.
As the blockade continues, declining revenues combined with rising import and reconstruction costs are expected to further limit Tehran’s ability to finance day-to-day government operations, rebuild damaged infrastructure, develop its military capabilities, and continue supporting its proxies.
Iranian citizens have largely remained off the streets since the protests in January, which were brutally suppressed by the regime and resulted in the deaths of thousands, and possibly tens of thousands, of people, with only isolated demonstrations taking place since then.
That relative calm has persisted despite annual inflation reaching 88.6%, according to Iranian authorities, while food prices have surged 130% over the past year. The rial has also fallen to a new low, losing approximately 20% of its value since the beginning of the war.
Israeli and US assessments are that the deteriorating economic situation will intensify domestic pressure on the Iranian regime. Long lines recently seen at gas stations are one indication of growing concerns over fuel supplies.
The Iranian government has sought to avoid cutting subsidies on basic goods, a step that helped trigger major waves of protests in 2017 and 2019. Nevertheless, Tehran has been unable to fully shield the public from significant price increases. The price of bread, for example, has risen by approximately 150%.
The assessment in Israel is that the longer the blockade remains in place, the greater the cumulative damage to Iran’s economy will become. That could set off a chain reaction in which worsening economic conditions place greater pressure on the Iranian public, which in turn increases pressure on the regime.
US has mine swept entire Strait of Hormuz, Trump tells reporters
Trump said on Monday that the United States controls the Strait of Hormuz and had swept the strategic oil waterway for Iranian mines.
“Look, the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “We’ve mine-swept the entire strait.”
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to six that day, compared with a 10-day average of about 11 vessels, shipping data showed, amid fading hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran.
Four commodity vessels, including two empty oil product tankers, entered the waterway, data from Kpler showed on Tuesday. Two vessels – a small tanker laden with liquefied petroleum gas and another carrying residual fuels – exited the Strait, the data showed.
In pre-war days, about 130 to 140 ships typically transited the strait.
Iran fears economic sanctions more than military strikes, Trump’s UN envoy says
Iran is more afraid of US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent than Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
“When they’re coming to the table with our negotiators, they are talking about cash, cash, cash. Because they’ll absorb the bombings,” he said.
Trump also emphasized the economic pressure on Iran in a phone call with Axios on Sunday.
“We are only semi-negotiating with them. We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money,” he stated.
One US official told Axios that during active warfare, Tehran can temporarily avoid dealing with the economic consequences of the fighting. But as strikes have paused, it is forced to confront the reality of its economic situation, with no solution easily available.
Leo Feierberg Better, Esther Davis, and Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.
