Trump claims US has total control over Strait of Hormuz, asks Iranians to ‘rise up and fight’

US President Donald Trump has claimed that Washington now has “almost total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran’s economy is “totally collapsing”, as tensions between the two countries continue to escalate amid an intensifying exchange of strikes.

In a post on Truth Social, published hours after the US launched a fresh wave of airstrikes against Iran, Trump dismissed an ABC News report claiming that he was trying to force Tehran back to the negotiating table. He said he had no interest in pressuring Iran into an agreement.

“I’m not trying to force Iran to the bargaining table, as ABC Fake News reported. I couldn’t care less if they sign a worthless, to them, agreement,” the President said, adding that he preferred the current situation, with what he described as “almost total control of the Hormuz Strait” and an Iranian economy that was “totally collapsing”.

“They are just playing out the inevitable.”

Trump also directly called on the Iranian people to challenge their government, asking: “When are the Iranian people going to rise up and fight?”

His remarks came after the US launched a barrage of airstrikes against Iranian targets on Tuesday, triggering retaliation from Tehran against US assets and military bases in Jordan, Bahrain and Iraq.

The latest strikes followed a weekend exchange of fire, the first since July, as well as attacks on Monday targeting two tankers leaving the Strait of Hormuz.

Global oil prices rose by more than $4 a barrel on Tuesday, settling at a five-week high as concerns grew over the escalating conflict.

The latest confrontation has further intensified the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global energy route that Iran has effectively closed to shipping. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the US strikes would “tighten the lock” on the strategic waterway.

Iranian officials have warned that if Tehran is prevented from exporting oil through the Gulf, no other country would be allowed to do so either.

Trump, meanwhile, rejected the prospect of another ceasefire, saying an agreement with Tehran “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” and that Iran had already been given enough chances.

The latest US-Iran confrontation follows months of heightened tensions and a previous agreement reached in June that quickly broke down, with control of the Strait of Hormuz emerging as one of the key points of contention.

Also Read: Trump warns Iran will be hit again at ‘much harder and higher level’ if it retaliates to US strikes