Washington/Tehran, August 12, 2026: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said American forces were likely to maintain their presence in the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that Washington had “total control” over the strategic waterway as efforts to revive an interim peace arrangement with Iran showed no signs of progress.
“The USA has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it,” Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.
Trump described the ongoing naval blockade as a “wall of steel” and said Iran could do nothing about it. He also claimed that Iran’s military capabilities had been neutralised, alleging that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had been “decimated and fleeing”.
He further described Iran’s economy as being in collapse, accusing Tehran of having “300% inflation” and warning that the situation was worsening.
A senior Iranian source said there had been no progress in efforts to revive an interim agreement reached in June and establish a timetable for implementing its commitments.
The development further dampened hopes of a swift end to the conflict, particularly after fresh attacks on shipping in the region pushed oil prices higher.
The June agreement had called for an “immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts”, but the arrangement subsequently unravelled. Trump declared it “over” on July 7, while Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a week later that it had been suspended.
Washington accuses Tehran of failing to honour commitments to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while Iran maintains that the United States violated its own obligations, including those concerning the blockade of Iranian ports and frozen Iranian assets.
The Iranian source said mediators were discussing the possibility of Washington returning to the interim agreement and establishing a timeframe for implementation, but “there has been absolutely no progress” on the issue.
The source also rejected reports that the 60-day period under the June arrangement had been extended, saying Iran did not recognise that there was a period to extend because the United States had violated the agreement shortly after it was reached.
Iranian officials have meanwhile hardened their position over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said the strategic waterway would remain closed unless Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions for ending the war, including the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to conflicts in the region.
“As long as America does not change its behaviour and does not accept Iran’s conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened,” Rezaei said, according to Iranian media.
Iran’s parliament is also preparing legislation that would restrict military and commercial vessels from countries Tehran considers hostile from entering the Gulf without Iranian authorisation.
Ibrahim Azizi, chairman of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the proposed legislation was aimed at strengthening Iran’s authority over the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf.
The waterway, located between Iran and Oman and linking the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, handled about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows before the conflict.
Fresh attacks on commercial shipping have added to concerns over the security of global energy supplies.
Four crew members were killed in a suspected Houthi attack on a cargo vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, while two Yemeni rescuers were also reported killed.
Separately, the US military said a Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles to disable the steering system of a Panama-flagged cargo ship that Washington said had ignored repeated warnings to stop violating a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Maritime sources said the vessel was struck off Pakistan while sailing towards the Gulf of Oman.
Vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz also fell to its lowest daily level in a week on Tuesday, with shipping data showing only eight vessels being tracked through the strategic waterway.
Brent crude futures rose 35 cents, or 0.4 per cent, to $89.26 a barrel on Wednesday, heading for a sixth consecutive day of gains.
Iranian military officials have warned Washington against further escalation.
A spokesperson for Iran’s Armed Forces said renewed US aggression could put energy transmission lines, power plants and both American and non-American systems, including global internet-connected infrastructure, at risk.
Mohammad Reza Naqdi, an adviser to the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, separately claimed that the US military was weaker than Iran had previously perceived.
Iranian officials have also indicated that the IRGC is developing capabilities to conduct operations on foreign territory if ordered.
The broader regional crisis has also spilled into Yemen, where Houthi forces reportedly renewed ballistic missile attacks against the strategic port of Mokha near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
State-run Saba TV reported that the Houthis targeted the port with ballistic missiles but did not provide details about casualties or damage.
The reported attack came a day after Yemeni government forces said the Houthis had targeted Mokha with 10 ballistic missiles and four drones.
Separately, Yemen’s pro-government National Resistance Forces announced the death of Colonel Yahya Mohammed Mohsen al-Qadhi in clashes with the Houthis.
The fighting comes amid renewed tensions in several parts of Yemen despite a relative lull in the country’s wider conflict since April 2022.
Amid the escalating regional tensions, Pakistan has continued efforts to promote dialogue and strengthen its ties with Tehran.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Tuesday praised Pakistan’s commitment to strengthening bilateral relations during a meeting with Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi in Tehran.
Pezeshkian expressed readiness to deepen cooperation with Pakistan across political, economic, trade, cultural and security fields and stressed the importance of greater interaction between the two neighbours.
He said closer Pakistan-Iran relations could serve the interests of both countries while contributing to regional stability and security.
Naqvi said his visit was aimed at following up on agreements reached during the recent visit of Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Pakistan.
He reaffirmed Islamabad’s commitment to comprehensive development of relations with Tehran and stressed the importance of implementing existing agreements and understandings.
Pakistan’s diplomatic engagement comes as Islamabad continues to advocate dialogue and diplomacy as the preferred means of resolving the confrontation between Washington and Tehran and preventing further escalation in the region.
