Iran defiant over Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran tensions continue

Iran called on the US to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Iran as "evil" and said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.

"After we finish defeating Iran – which is being very badly defeated – pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," Trump said during a political rally in Garden City, New York.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday that "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." "The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing ​an order or by delivering an election speech," Gharibabadi said.

Those comments suggested the warring parties remained far apart, with progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic ‌through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway both halted.

Hormuz traffic flows Only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, according to analysis from ship-tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship going the other direction.

A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was sailing into the Gulf via the strait, the data showed.

There were no crude oil shipments visible.

The United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi National ​Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked transiting the strait on Thursday evening, then the Emirati state news agency WAM reported another vessel came under attack on Friday.

The near-closure of the strait helped raise crude oil futures another $1 ​a barrel on Friday.

The average US price of a gallon of gasoline was about $4.08 on Friday, according to the American Automobile Association.

That's up 29% from $3.16 a ​year earlier.

Trump on Friday urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices during the rally in Garden City, saying paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" is worth the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon.

No sign of resumption of peace talks With a tentative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June to end the war in tatters, there was no sign that the US or Iran planned to resume peace talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said no decision has yet been made to restart negotiations with the United States, ​the Iranian Student News Agency reported on Saturday. ​Mediators Qatar and Pakistan were in contact with Iran and exchanging messages, but this did not amount to negotiations, the agency said.