President Donald Trump said Saturday that he rejected a deal from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, keeping a naval blockade in place while commercial shipping through the waterway remains approximately 75% below pre-conflict levels. The people paying for this standoff aren’t the ones issuing the orders. They’re the crews, the traders, the drivers, and everyone else watching fuel costs climb while the war machine treats a vital passage like a bargaining chip.
Trump said Iran wanted to make a deal over the waterway “because they’re dying.” He said, “I’ve rejected their deal,” and claimed Tehran wanted a temporary ceasefire in exchange for reopening the strait. “They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly,” he said. Then came the usual swagger from the top of the hierarchy: “We’re winning tremendously. We have total control of the Hormuz Strait, massive amounts of oil are coming out of the Hormuz Strait.”
Who Holds the Strait
Trump said, “Last night we had 29 ships come out.” He also said, “They want to make a deal, and I think that's fine, I like making a deal, too, but that deal would not be acceptable.” He added, “And what they want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait. You know why? Because they're dying.” Trump said Iran had “no money coming in” because it gets money from the strait, and claimed, “So they outsmarted themselves. They said, 'let's close it and cause a problem for the world.' And then I came along and we put up the greatest blockade ever in military history. It's a wall of steel.”
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Trump had rejected Iran’s proposed seven-day ceasefire and told aides he expected U.S. bombing of Iran to resume after the November midterm elections. That’s the electoral calendar sitting on top of a war, with the timing of destruction apparently folded into campaign season. The Journal said Trump was skeptical that Tehran would meet U.S. demands despite continued negotiations through regional mediators.
Iran’s proposal called for the U.S. to lift its naval blockade, unfreeze some Iranian assets and ease sanctions on Iranian oil exports in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear negotiations, according to the Journal. The U.S. has told Iran and mediators that Trump does not intend to lift the maritime blockade, the outlet reported. Officials told the Journal that Trump’s position could change as negotiations continue. That’s the machinery of power in motion: blockade first, talks second, and ordinary people left to absorb the fallout.
Who Pays for the War
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said this week that commercial shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz “remains approximately 75% below pre-conflict levels.” It said tankers remain the predominant vessel type transiting the strait and that the southern Omani route remains the most reported corridor, accounting for 26 of 43 projectile strike incidents reported by UKMTO since July 26. The war against Iran is nearing the 7-month mark, and the strain on commercial shipping is affecting energy prices. As of Saturday, the national average price of a gallon of gas was $4.49, up from $4.10 a month ago, according to AAA.
Trump repeated his vow Saturday that the Iranian regime cannot obtain a nuclear weapon. “IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON!!!” he wrote on Truth Social. Days earlier, he told the U.N. General Assembly that he had a “big decision” to make on the war against Iran. “Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again?” he said.
That’s the language of rulers deciding the fate of millions from behind podiums and screens. The public gets slogans. The apparatus gets the power.
What the Other Side Says
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi vowed Tehran “will not stop punishing the U.S. until Iran’s seven conditions are met,” according to Iranian state media. Tehran has been calling on the Trump administration to lift the U.S. military’s naval blockade on Iranian ports and unfreeze some Iranian assets, among other asks. “We are the victors of the war and are turning it into permanent strategic deterrence,” Mohebbi was quoted as saying Friday by Iran’s Tasnim News Agency.
Trump also shared an image on his Truth Social account labeling the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait” after a report said he rejected the proposed seven-day ceasefire from Iran. During Operation Epic Fury, he has made numerous remarks suggesting he would like to rename the Strait of Hormuz. “Pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said in mid-August.
Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Col. Turki al-Malki said Saudi Arabia’s air defenses intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthi militia toward the Riyadh area and a ballistic missile launched toward Khamis Mushait. He said, “escalations and violations by the terrorist Houthi militia will be dealt with firmly.”
The Office of Iraq’s Prime Minister said Saturday it was in talks with the U.S. Treasury Department to secure an exemption linked to the shutdown of Iranian airlines. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier this week that all Iranian airlines will be “shut down” starting Wednesday during the Operation Economic Outcast pressure campaign against the regime in Tehran. Bessent said, “And how do we do that? That if they land, you cannot provide them with fuel. You cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets, or you will be knocked out of the dollar system.” Iraq said it was conducting direct dialogue with the American side to exempt some Iraqi airports from the measures for humanitarian reasons related to treatment, study, religious visits and civilian interests. It said it was working to de-escalate the situation and called on all parties to engage in dialogue and negotiation to end the current crisis and conflicts.
Fox News Digital also reported that Israel’s military struck a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in southern Lebanon, saying the facility stored weapons used to target IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone. U.S. Central Command released a photo Saturday showing an F/A-18 Super Hornet preparing to take off from the flight deck of the USS George Washington as it sailed in regional waters in the Middle East. CENTCOM said more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief. As of Friday, CENTCOM forces had redirected 122 commercial vessels to ensure strict compliance with an ongoing blockade of Iranian ports.