A banner depicting Donald Trump in front of a burning White House stands before a ballistic missile exhibit at Azadi Square in Tehran, Iran's capital. Photo / Getty Images
Iran has demanded that United States President Donald Trump accept defeat in the Middle East.
Responding to Trump’s assertion that the Strait of Hormuz would soon be declared US territory, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the vital oil-shipping route would remain under Iranian control.
“The strait will be
closed and opened only under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.
“Once and for all, accept the reality: Up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats; the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, and will remain Iranian.”
Iranian state media carried similar remarks made by Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, the country’s judiciary chief, who called Trump a “full[y] fledged loser in the hard arena of politics and military combat”, reiterating that the Strait of Hormuz remained “an inseparable part” of Iran.
“What multi-billion-dollar aircraft carriers could not achieve will not be achieved with a few tweets and speeches,” he said.
Along with comments about making the Strait of Hormuz US territory, Trump suggested yesterday that Americans should be willing to endure higher petrol prices while the conflict with Iran continued.
Paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline [petrol]” was worth it, he argued, to ensure that “a very evil country” could not have a nuclear weapon.
The war of words underscored the impasse between the US and Iran, as talks to end the war and the blockade of the strait remained stalled.
At the same time, another Middle East truce – between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah – was hanging by a thread, after Israeli air strikes killed 11 people overnight, including three children.
The deadlock has continued even as the US and Iran have each felt the effects on their domestic economies, with the potential for an increasing public backlash.
For Americans, the war has meant high prices at the fuel pump, while in Iran, the blockade has caused inflation to soar, meaning that families are less and less able to afford staples such as oil and bread.
But there’s little sign that either side will be prepared to compromise or even sit at the same negotiating table. Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s Foreign Minister, told Iranian media that Tehran would not resume talks with the US until Washington met certain conditions.
Iran has demanded that the US pay war reparations as a precondition for an end to hostilities and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, with a government spokesman estimating the losses at US$270 billion ($458.25b).
