Iran defiant on strait as Trump tells Americans to accept high gasoline prices

Iran called on the U.S. to accept defeat on Saturday, while President Donald Trump blasted Tehran as "very evil" and told Americans to prepare for continued high fuel prices because of the war.

Progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained halted, with no sign either side was moving toward ending the conflict that the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28.

Why is Iran refusing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?

Iran says it will keep enforcing a blockade of the strait until the U.S. accepts what Tehran calls its defeat in the war. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait "will be opened and closed only under Iran's command" and that Iran would continue enforcing the blockade so long as Washington did not accept "the reality of defeat."

Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran has not decided to resume talks with the U.S., adding that Washington must meet Iran's conditions on the strait before shipping can resume in the waterway, which handled one-fifth of the world's oil before the war.

How has the war affected U.S. gasoline prices?

Trump urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices while the conflict continues. Speaking at a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, he said paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" was worth ensuring "a very evil country" could not obtain a nuclear weapon, one of his stated reasons for the war. He also said that once Iran is defeated, he will "pretty soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz "a territory of the United States."

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 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 on Friday, with Brent futures on track for a weekly rise of 6.0% and West Texas Intermediate up 5.4%.

Is Iran also facing economic pressure from the war?

Tehran has stepped up its rhetoric in recent days as attempts to reach a permanent end to the war appear deadlocked. "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 this defiant tone, there were signs of economic strain inside Iran, with President Masoud Pezeshkian blaming high inflation on a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iran's oil exports.

Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent each pledged further financial pressure on Iran. Bessent told Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" program on Thursday that new measures against Iran would be announced next week. Tehran calls its enforcement of strait traffic a blockade, the same term Washington uses for its threat against Iranian vessels leaving their ports. "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.

How much shipping traffic is still passing through the strait?

Only two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, with no crude oil shipments visible, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler. Some vessels may cross undetected with their transponders switched off, but current figures remain far below the more than 130 ships that traversed the strait daily before the war. Vessels that attempt to navigate the strait without Iranian permission risk missile or drone strikes.

The UAE accused Iran of attacking a third vessel operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company while it was transiting the strait on Friday, according to the Emirati state news agency WAM, after blaming Iran for two other ADNOC-linked incidents on Thursday evening. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre separately reported that a bulk carrier was struck in the hull by an unknown projectile in the strait on Friday, though it was not immediately clear if this referred to the same incident involving the ADNOC vessel.

Is there still a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran?

A tentative June deal to end the war is now 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 have renewed concerns about a widening regional war, after Yemen's internationally recognized government said the group fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Mocha on Friday, killing four civilians.