President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz as US territory in a post on Truth Social.
Sharing a crude map of the region with a large blue circle over Hormuz, the post declared the vital shipping route as “NEW US territory”.
“The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect”, Trump said. “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated”.
However, data shared by analytics company Kpler with The Independent shows that only ten vessels passed through on Monday, compared to 130 to 140 before the war.
Trump earlier confirmed that there are “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran.
US Special Envoy Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, recently told Fox News Iran is ”not showing any interest” in a deal that is in the Trump administration’s best interest.
Iran had earlier said the shipping route is to remain closed until the US meets the conditions agreed in an interim deal, according to Iran’s top negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf in comments shared by state media.
Conditions include lifting the marine blockade and sanctions as well as freeing Iran’s frozen assets.
UAE imposes trade embargo on Iran after missile attack
The United Arab Emirates' defence ministry imposed an indefinite trade embargo on Iran after saying that two ballistic missiles launched on Tuesday were fired by Iran.
The ministry said the missiles targeted "maritime traffic" based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said.
“All trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran have been halted until further notice,” it said.
"The defence ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilise the state's security," it added.
On Tuesday, some residents received an alert warning of a missile threat. Later, the alert was lifted, and residents were asked to resume normal activities.
The first missile fell outside the country's territorial waters, while the second fell within territorial waters, according to the ministry of defence.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected early on Wednesday the statement by the UAE, describing it as "baseless” and a “false flag operation”.
US military official blames Biden administration after reports of dwindling weapons stockpile
US Under Secretary of War Michael Duffey has blamed the Biden administration following reports of the military’s dwindling weapons stockpile.
As the Iran war drags on, there have been multiple reports of the US military burning through long-range missiles and interceptors. US President Donald Trump has maintained that the military has “massive amounts” of munitions.
“We would always like to have more weapons than we have right now, which is why we are so focused on engaging with our industrial partners, entering these deals, and ensuring that we ramp the production of these key missiles as quickly as possible”, Duffey told Fox News.
“We are making up for lost time. The Biden Administration did not deliver — they did not focus on developing the industrial base that we need in order to ensure that we have munitions for the foreseeable future. President Trump and [US Defense] Secretary [Pete] Hegseth are delivering”, he added.
Oil prices rise for a fourth consecutive day
Oil prices extended gains for a fourth consecutive session on Wednesday, with Brent crude futures up 26 cents, or 0.29 per cent, at $91.28 a barrel as of 0.04am GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 37 cents to $85.31 a barrel.
The gains came after prices closed on Tuesday at their highest levels since 24 July, as fading hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran fuelled concerns over supplies. Investors were also weighing conflicting statements from Washington and Tehran over the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
US envoy for Syria says Israeli strikes on airbase ‘unnecessary escalation’
Tom Barrack, the US ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X that Washington was very concerned by Israel’s bombing of an airbase in Syria on Tuesday.
He said the confirmed Israeli airstrikes on Abu al-Duhur Airbase "constitute an unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability."
"The United States continues to believe that restraint and engagement offer the more constructive course. We encourage all parties to prioritise logical discourse over further military incidents," he added.
Syrian foreign minister Assad al-Shibani called for the attacks to stop, saying Israel should recalculate its position toward Syria because it was confronting not only Damascus, but also Syria's allies.
Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian airbase
Israel bombed an airbase in Syria on Tuesday, Syrian state media said, drawing condemnation from Turkey.
Syria's state-run Ekhbariya television, citing a military source, said Israel carried out eight airstrikes on the runway and storage facilities at the Abu al-Duhur base near Aleppo in northwest Syria. A separate military source and a civilian who lives near the base said there were no casualties.
The attack appeared to be Israel's first strike on Syrian government assets since March. The Turkish foreign ministry said the attacks violated Syria's territorial unity and integrity.
"We call on the international community to take a more decisive stance to end Israel's escalating aggression against Syria," it said in a statement.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said late Tuesday that Syria was on the "verge" of violating a "status quo agreed with Israel in security matters" by allowing Turkish troops to deploy at the airbase.
"Israel repeatedly warned Syria that such a deployment would pose a threat to Israel's security. Syria chose to ignore these warnings," Netanyahu's office said.
"Israel will not tolerate threats to its security," yet "would welcome a return to the status quo".
Turkey's statement did not say if its troops were at the Syrian base.
Iran calls Trump 'deluded' man after he claims Hormuz American territory
Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi has hit back at Donald Trump after the US president claimed the Strait of Hormuz was “open and operating” and posted a map depicting the waterway as US territory.
“Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternally Persian Gulf, his delusion about the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct the delusions of this delusional man,” Gharibabadi wrote on X.
The remarks come as Iran and Oman negotiate a deal to reopen the strategic waterway, with the Trump administration reportedly opposing parts of the proposed agreement.
Trump says US has no talks planned with Iran
US president Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US has no talks planned with Iran, but insisted that the Strait of Hormuz remains “open and operating”, despite limited traffic and a reported strike on a ship leaving the waterway.
As Oman and Iran say they are nearing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said on social media on Tuesday that the US blockade of Iranian ports remains "in full force and effect," but asserted that all water mines have been removed and that other marine traffic was free to pass.
Trump posted a map depicting the strait as US territory.
Earlier this week, Trump also threatened to bomb Oman as the country sought a deal with Iran to manage shipping traffic through the strait, two regional officials said on Tuesday.
The officials spoke a day after Trump reportedly warned that he would strike Oman if it “gets in the way”. Iran has said the waterway will not be reopened until the US meets its conditions.
Egypt says Iran-Oman agreement could open door to Iran-US deal
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the Iranian-Omani deal could pave the way for Washington and Tehran to return to negotiations for a "comprehensive and permanent deal that addresses all concerns and enhances regional security and stability."
The statement came after a meeting between Egyptian foreign minister Badr Abdelatty and Omani counterpart Badr al-Busaidi. But it did not address Trump's latest threat against Oman.
The 60-day negotiating period ended this week between the U.S. and Iran with no clear end to the war in sight.
Ship traffic drops significantly in Strait of Hormuz
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz dropped significantly last week, with confirmed crossings falling 19.5 per cent to 95 transits.
Only three vessels made it through the waterway on Sunday, according to shipping data platform Kpler.
The ships used the Iranian-designated route through the strait, with no crossings recorded through the Omani routes.
Crossings through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait increased 6.7 per cent to 254 transits, while so-called dark transits, in which ships turn off the transponders that broadcast their location, fell from 40 to 16, Kpler said.
Trump looms over negotiations to reopen Strait of Hormuz
As Oman and Iran say they are nearing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Donald Trump said on social media Tuesday that the US blockade of Iranian ports remains "in full force and effect," but asserted that all water mines have been removed and that other marine traffic was free to pass.
Trump posted a map depicting the strait as U.S. territory.
Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi appeared to respond to Trump's post.
"Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man," he wrote on X.
The Trump administration has told Oman it opposes parts of the yet-to-be-announced deal, according to officials briefed on the US position.
Those include joint Iranian and Omani management of the passage's exit route and the collection of voluntary fees from vessels, even if the money is used for security and maritime environmental protection.
The White House on Tuesday referred to Trump's remarks in the Oval Office and declined to comment further about Oman, the Associated Press reports