Iran has urged the United States to accept defeat as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz continue, while US President Donald Trump warned Americans to prepare for higher fuel prices amid the ongoing conflict.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would maintain control over traffic through the strategic waterway unless Washington accepted what he described as the reality of its defeat.
He said the strait would only be opened or closed under Iran’s authority, adding that the blockade would continue as long as the US refused to accept the situation.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi also said Iran had yet to decide whether to resume negotiations with Washington. He told Iranian news outlet Shahrara News that the US would have to meet Tehran’s conditions regarding the strait before shipping could resume.
The Strait of Hormuz is a major global energy route, with around one-fifth of the world’s oil passing through the waterway before the conflict began. Shipping activity has since fallen sharply, adding further pressure to international energy markets.
Trump, meanwhile, told a political rally in Garden City, New York, that Americans should accept paying slightly more for petrol while the conflict continues. He described Iran as a “very evil country” and cited preventing Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons as one of his stated reasons for the war.
Average US petrol prices stood at around US$4.08 per gallon on Friday, according to the American Automobile Association, representing a 29 per cent increase compared with the same period last year.
Oil prices have also climbed, with benchmark Brent crude on track for a weekly gain of about six per cent, while West Texas Intermediate was heading for a 5.4 per cent increase.
Gharibabadi rejected any suggestion that the Strait of Hormuz could simply be taken through military power or political declarations, saying control of the waterway could not be established through social media posts, aircraft carriers or election speeches.
Despite Tehran’s defiant position, the conflict is also taking a toll on Iran’s economy. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed rising inflation on the US blockade of Iranian ports and restrictions on the country’s oil exports.
Shipping through the strait remained severely disrupted, with only two vessels recorded passing through on Friday and no crude oil shipments detected, according to ship-tracking analysis by Kpler. This compares with more than 130 vessels crossing the waterway each day before the war.
Ships attempting to navigate the strait without Iranian permission also face the risk of missile or drone attacks. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while travelling through the waterway on Thursday, while another vessel was reportedly targeted the following day.
Efforts to revive a tentative agreement reached in June to end the conflict have also collapsed. Araqchi said Iran did not regard the previous arrangement as a ceasefire that could simply be extended, describing the situation as a new phase of the conflict.
Meanwhile, attacks linked to the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen have raised concerns that the fighting could spread further across the region. Yemen’s internationally recognised government said six ballistic missiles were fired at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians.
The Houthi-run SABA news agency, however, reported that the group had targeted an Aramco facility in Saudi Arabia’s Najran using a drone, adding another layer to the widening regional tensions.
