Iran tells US to ‘accept defeat’ amid Strait of Hormuz blockade

Iran called on the United States to accept defeat Saturday as President Donald Trump described Tehran as “very evil” and warned Americans to brace for continued high fuel prices as the war drags on.

Progress toward peace talks and the resumption of oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remained stalled, with no clear indication that either side was moving toward ending the conflict launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28.

“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,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday.

U.S. gasoline prices rise 29% as Iran feels economic pressure

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Tehran had not decided whether to resume negotiations with Washington.

In an interview with Iranian news outlet Shahrara News published Saturday, he said the U.S. would have to meet Iran’s conditions regarding the Strait of Hormuz before shipping could resume through the vital waterway, which handled about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies before the war.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi speaks during a press conference after his meeting with foreign diplomats, Tehran, Iran, Oct. 5, 2025. (Reuters Photo)

Trump, meanwhile, urged Americans to accept higher gasoline prices as the conflict continues, warning that the disruption caused by the war could keep fuel costs elevated.

He told a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was worth the cost of ensuring “a very evil country” could not have a nuclear weapon, one of the president’s stated rationales for the war.

In a trend that has fueled inflation and disappointed voters, the average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline was about $4.08 on Friday, up 29% from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.

Trump, a Republican, campaigned for reelection on a promise to lower energy costs, and Democrats are seeking to make the war’s fallout an issue in November’s congressional elections.

Crude oil futures rose $1 a barrel Friday. Benchmark Brent futures were on track for a weekly gain of 6%, while West Texas Intermediate was up 5.4%.

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

Despite Iran’s defiant tone, though, there were signs of an economic toll there as well.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, in remarks on state television, blamed high inflation on a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.

No crude oil vessels transiting strait

Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent each pledged to inflict more financial damage on Iran. Bessent told Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight” program Thursday that announcements of additional measures against Iran were coming next week.

Tehran calls its enforcement of strait traffic a blockade, the term Washington uses for its threat against Iranian vessels leaving their ports.

People walk by a mural depicting Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 13, 2026. (Reuters Photo) — People walk by a mural depicting Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on a street in Tehran, Iran, Aug. 13, 2026. (Reuters Photo)

“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 U.S. aircraft carrier supporting the war effort was “not nearly long enough.”

Only two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz Friday, with no crude oil shipments visible, according to an analysis by ship-tracking firm Kpler. Some ships may cross the strait undetected with their transponders turned off, but the figures are nowhere near the more than 130 ships that traversed it daily before the war.

Vessels that navigate the strait without Iranian permission risk missile or drone strikes. The United Arab Emirates’ Abu Dhabi National Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked while transiting the strait Thursday evening, and the Emirati state news agency WAM reported that another vessel came under attack Friday.

A bulk carrier was struck in the hull by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said Saturday, adding that the crew was safe, no damage assessment had been reported and the environmental impact was unknown.

A tentative June deal to end the war is in tatters.

“We did not have a ceasefire in the first place that we would now want to extend,” Araqchi said. “We had ‘the end of the war,’ and now there is a new situation.”

Attacks by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen renewed concerns about a widening regional war. Yemen’s internationally recognized government said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians.

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.

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