Trump says U.S. has "total control" over Strait of Hormuz and might "keep it"

President Trump said Wednesday the U.S. has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim Iran has disputed and that comes as ships are hesitant to pass through the waterway. "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT," he wrote on his Truth Social platform. The number of vessels tracked transiting the strait fell to a one-week low of eight, according to data reported by the Reuters news agency. About 130 ships a day passed through the vital waterway before the war started on Feb. 28. Six people on a vessel in the Red Sea were killed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, Yemen's coast guard said Tuesday. Iran claims it controls Strait of Hormuz and U.S. doesn't. The head of Iran's Basij paramilitary unit, Hossein Taeb, asserted Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is "under Iran's control and management," Reuters reported, citing Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. The remarks came a day after President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. had "total control" of the vital waterway. Iran is countering President Trump's claim earlier Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz is under U.S. control, though they did not refer to the president by name. "Claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality: the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted," the Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a statement on X. The Persian Gulf Strait Authority was the agency set up to manage transit through the strait — and collect a toll — soon after the war began. Traffic in the strait has slowed to a crawl in recent weeks. Tuesday's tally of eight vessels fell below a 10-day average of about 12, for the lowest daily count since Aug. 5, according to Kpler data. Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier that the U.S. 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," he wrote. Trump claims U.S. has "total control" over strait: "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" Taking to Truth Social, President Trump claimed the U.S. has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim Iran has disputed and that comes as ships are hesitant to pass through the waterways. "The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz," he wrote. "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. 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.'" "Praise be to Allah!" the president concluded. Strait of Hormuz traffic falls to one-week low. The number of vessels tracked transiting the Strait of Hormuz fell to a one-week low of eight, according to data reported by the Reuters news agency, as the ongoing conflict and stalemate kept shipping companies away from the vital waterway. Tuesday's tally of eight vessels fell below a 10-day average of about 12, for the lowest daily count since August 5, according to Kpler data reported by Reuters. Around 130 ships a day passed through the vital waterway before the war started on February 28.