Iran rejected Donald Trump's claim that the Strait of Hormuz would soon become U.S. territory, after the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported a bulk carrier struck by an unknown projectile in the waterway. The exchange came as Washington's naval blockade of Iranian ports continues and U.S. gasoline prices stay well above year-ago levels.
Iran rejected President Donald Trump's claim that the Strait of Hormuz would soon become U.S. territory, after a ship in the waterway was reportedly struck and negotiations with Tehran showed no sign of resuming. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected the claim in a post on X, saying the strait remains under Iran's command.
Ship struck as blockade continues
The UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre said Saturday it received a verified report of a bulk carrier struck by an unknown projectile that hit the vessel's hull. Since an interim ceasefire broke down in June, shipping in the strait has repeatedly come under fire from Iranian projectiles, while the U.S. has struck Iranian targets as part of its blockade of Iranian ports.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly said the military can keep the naval blockade of Iran going indefinitely, with carriers rotating in and out. The USS George Washington strike group left Vietnam on Aug. 12 to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, deployed in the Middle East for more than 250 days.
Iran says no negotiations underway
Trump said that after the U.S. defeats Iran, he will declare the Hormuz Strait a U.S. territory, and he has floated imposing tolls in the waterway once the conflict ends, though he later dropped the idea. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi was quoted by Iranian media as saying the two sides do not have anything like a ceasefire and that no negotiations are underway, though Qatar and Pakistan are exchanging messages between the parties.
Gasoline prices stay elevated
Americans would need to tolerate slightly higher fuel prices while the U.S. pressures Iran, Trump said Friday, telling a crowd: "when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at four dollars." The average U.S. gasoline price reached $4.07 a gallon on Saturday, according to the American Automobile Association, up from $3.15 a year earlier.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would apply economic measures on Iran that have never been seen before, combined with the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Source: CNBC
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