President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States has "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz, a claim disputed by Iran as shipping activity through the vital waterway remains severely reduced.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "The U.S.A. 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. 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.’ All they have is FAKE NEWS and 300% INFLATION, and getting worse! Iran is all talk and no action, the Bully of the Middle East No Longer.”
Meanwhile, there have been no discussions between Tehran and Washington about extending a ceasefire, a senior Iranian source told Reuters on Wednesday, saying there was no agreement in place to extend.
"There is no talk of an extension because, from Iran's perspective, there is no period that began and therefore nothing to extend. The United States violated the interim agreement 48 hours after it was reached and withdrew from it a few days later," the Iranian source told Reuters.
The source said mediators were discussing the possibility of the U.S. returning to the interim agreement and establishing a timeframe for implementing commitments, but added: "There has been absolutely no progress on this issue."
Elsewhere, oil from a spill reached parts of Iran's Qeshm island in the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.
Iran's Department of Environment said oil had been spotted along sections of the island's coastline and that authorities were investigating the source. Cleanup operations were underway and were expected to be completed by the end of Wednesday.
In the Red Sea, six people aboard a vessel were killed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, according to Yemen's coast guard on Tuesday.
