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President Donald Trump on Tuesday declared that the United States has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, even as negotiations over reopening the critical shipping lane remain deadlocked and Iran insists the waterway will stay closed until Washington meets a long list of political and economic demands.

Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews and later on his Truth Social platform, Trump described the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports as a “Wall of Steel” that Iran cannot break, and said he has no intention of giving up that leverage. “The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!” he wrote, framing the blockade as proof of American strength and a key bargaining chip in the wider standoff with Tehran.

Iran immediately pushed back. A senior Iranian official told Al Jazeera that the strait will remain shut until the United States “accepts its demands and changes its behavior,” rejecting Trump’s claim of control as political rhetoric rather than a legal or operational reality. The Islamic Republic’s position is that the waterway cannot be reopened while the U.S. maintains what it calls an illegal naval blockade, keeps large military forces in the region, and refuses to address Tehran’s demands for reparations, sanctions relief, and an end to fighting in Lebanon, Gaza, and elsewhere.

Blockade tightens as talks stall

The dispute comes after months of on-and-off negotiations that have failed to produce a final deal to restore normal shipping through Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flowed before the war began earlier this year. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says its blockade applies only to vessels trying to enter or leave Iranian ports, not to ships transiting the strait to other destinations, but the effect has been to choke off most maritime trade with Iran.

According to CENTCOM, the U.S. Navy has now redirected more than 50 commercial ships away from Iranian ports since the blockade began, including 20 more in the past week alone, signaling that Washington is not easing pressure while talks remain stalled. On Tuesday, a U.S. Navy MH-60 helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at a Panama-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman that it said was attempting to violate the blockade, disabling the vessel’s steering gear in a stark demonstration of enforcement.

Iranian officials argue that the blockade itself is a violation of the interim understandings reached in June and that no final agreement on Hormuz is possible until it is lifted. Tehran’s conditions, as laid out by the Supreme National Security Council and repeated by senior negotiators, include an end to U.S. threats and attacks on Iran and its allies, withdrawal of U.S. naval and air forces from around Iran, lifting of sanctions, and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said there is “no possibility of restarting negotiations” as long as Washington continues what he described as violations of the June memorandum without compensation.

Energy markets react to uncertainty

The impasse is already feeding into global energy markets. Analysts warn that any escalation—such as attacks on non-Iranian vessels, mining of shipping lanes, or broader regional conflict involving Iran’s allies—could push prices sharply higher and disrupt supplies to Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Trump, however, has signaled that he is prepared to wait out Iran economically rather than launch a new military offensive to force the strait open. In recent days he has said he believes mounting economic distress inside Iran will eventually push Tehran to accept U.S. terms, even as he maintains the blockade and keeps American troops deployed across the Middle East.

What “total control” means in practice

Legally and operationally, Trump’s claim of “total control” refers to the U.S. Navy’s ability to intercept and redirect ships heading to or from Iranian ports under the current blockade orders, not to sovereignty over the strait itself. CENTCOM has stated that its forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, but the presence of U.S. warships, aircraft, and boarding teams has effectively made Iran’s own maritime trade dependent on Washington’s permission.

For now, both sides appear dug in. Iran says Hormuz will not reopen until the U.S. “corrects its behavior” and meets its conditions; Trump says the U.S. will keep its “Wall of Steel” in place and use it as leverage in any final deal. With negotiations stalled and energy prices rising, the standoff over Hormuz looks set to remain one of the defining flashpoints of the broader U.S.–Iran confrontation.