US forces fire on a tanker violating the naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. (CENTCOM)
Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz and described the blockade as a “wall of steel.”
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Thursday that the US Navy can maintain its blockade of Iran indefinitely as negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the conflict remain stalled.
“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters in Panama.
Hegseth made the remarks after addressing the crew of the USS Gridley, a guided-missile destroyer that previously deployed to the Middle East.
His comments followed President Donald Trump’s statement earlier in the week that the US was taking a “low-key” approach toward Iran, relying on mounting economic pressure and the naval blockade rather than launching additional military strikes.
Trump said Wednesday on Truth Social that the US controls the Strait of Hormuz and described the blockade as a “wall of steel.”
“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. “
Trump also portrayed Iran as severely weakened by the conflict and mounting economic pressure.
“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! 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. “
The war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
Tehran subsequently effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, which previously carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
The US later imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and shipping while saying it would protect freedom of navigation for vessels traveling to and from non-Iranian ports.
Washington has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the Middle East since the conflict began, along with more than 20 warships.
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