TEHRAN, Iran — A defiant Iran called on the U.S. to “accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions” after President Donald Trump suggested that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory of the United States.”
The crucial waterway that handled one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war “cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor through an election speech,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday.
“This strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” he added.
With oil tanker traffic through the strategic strait at a trickle and peace talks between the U.S. and Iran at an impasse, there are few signs that the war, launched on Feb. 28, is close to being over.