Iran defiant on Strait of Hormuz as Trump tells Americans to accept high gas prices

Iran said on Saturday it would maintain its control over shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, while US President Donald Trump urged Americans to accept higher gasoline prices as the war with Iran continues, signalling little progress towards ending the conflict.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would determine when the strategic waterway would be opened, rejecting US pressure and showing little urgency about restoring shipping to prewar levels.

"This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran's command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday.

"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech," he said.

About one in five barrels of the world's oil exports passed through the strait before the United States and Israel launched their war with Iran on February 28.

Only two vessels passed through the waterway on Friday, according to analysis by ship-tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship travelling in the opposite direction. A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was also heading into the Gulf through the strait. No crude oil shipments were visible.

Some vessels may have crossed without detection after switching off their transponders, but the traffic remains far below the more than 130 ships that passed through the strait each day before the war.

Ships navigating the waterway without Iranian permission risk missile or drone attacks. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the strait on Thursday evening, while the Emirati state news agency WAM reported another vessel came under attack on Friday.

Iran describes its enforcement of shipping restrictions as a blockade. The United States uses the same term for its threat against Iranian vessels attempting to leave their ports.

Trump, speaking at a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, said Americans should accept higher gasoline prices as the cost of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, one of his stated rationales for the war.

"Paying a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" was worth ensuring that "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon, Trump said.

The average US price of gasoline stood at about $4.08 a gallon on Friday, according to the American Automobile Association, up 29% from $3.16 a year earlier.

"What we're doing is a great service for the world, not only for ourselves ... and we're really doing a great job," Trump said, adding that a 260-day deployment by a US aircraft carrier supporting the war effort was "not nearly long enough."

No sign of renewed peace talks

With a tentative June deal to end the war in tatters, there was no clear indication that Washington or Tehran was preparing to resume negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said no decision had been made to restart negotiations with the United States, the Iranian Student News Agency reported on Saturday.

Mediators Qatar and Pakistan remained in contact with Iran and were exchanging messages, the agency said, but the contacts did not amount to negotiations.

Gharibabadi said Tehran would not be intimidated by threats or displays of military force.

The disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushed crude oil futures another $1 a barrel higher on Friday. Benchmark Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures were on track for weekly gains of 6.0% and 5.4%, respectively.

Economic toll mounts

The rise in fuel prices has collided with Trump's campaign promise to lower energy costs, while Democrats are seeking to make the economic consequences of the war an issue in November's midterm elections.

There were also signs that the conflict was taking a toll on Iran's economy.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks broadcast on state television, blamed high inflation on a US blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iranian oil exports.

Trump and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent have both pledged to increase financial pressure on Iran. Bessent told Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" programme on Thursday that further measures against Iran would be announced the following week.

The conflict has also raised concerns about a wider regional war.

Yemen's internationally recognised government said Iran-backed Houthi forces fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians.

Separately, the Houthi-run SABA news agency cited a military source as saying the group had targeted an Aramco facility in the Saudi city of Najran with a drone.