Trump claims 100% Hormuz control as Iran sets reopening terms

President Donald Trump said the U.S. Navy holds 100 percent control of the Strait of Hormuz after completing a full mine sweep, even as Iran keeps the waterway shut pending six conditions.

"We don't trust. We verify," Vice President JD Vance told Fox News on Saturday, adding that the U.S. would judge Iran by its actions rather than its words.

Brent crude settled at $83.55 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate at $78.18 on Friday, with both benchmarks down more than 7 percent for the week. Ship traffic through Hormuz fell 33 percent on Friday from the prior day, and confirmed crossings slid from 15 on Friday to six on Sunday, according to trade intelligence firm Kpler.

The standoff keeps roughly 20 million barrels of daily crude — about one-fifth of global supply — at risk, with the 60-day negotiating window under the June memorandum of understanding set to expire in just over a week.

Trump's declaration came hours after Iran's Supreme National Security Council laid out sweeping demands for reopening the strait. Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the council's secretary, said Washington must lift its naval blockade and sanctions, withdraw U.S. military forces from the region, pay war reparations and release frozen Iranian assets. The council also called for a permanent end to attacks on Iran's regional allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen and Iraq.

The conditions go beyond the June 17 memorandum of understanding, which assigned management of the strait to Iran and set a 60-day timeline for technical talks. That agreement collapsed in July after Iran fired on three commercial vessels near the strait, prompting the U.S. to reimpose its naval blockade on July 13. Central Command said it has since redirected 55 commercial vessels, disabled two and boarded two to enforce compliance.

Compensation Demands Pile Up

Trump responded to Iran's demands by demanding compensation of his own. "I am likewise demanding compensation from Iran, for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts," he wrote on social media Monday, citing Americans killed or wounded in conflicts involving Iran and Iranian-backed groups. He said payouts should also go to families of protesters killed by the Iranian government over the past 50 years.

Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper called Iran's conditions "frankly ridiculous" on ABC News' This Week. "It shows that they believe that they have the upper hand, they believe they are winning, and they are emboldened," he said.

The compensation dispute adds a fresh hurdle to talks that were already stalled. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that an agreement to open Hormuz with freedom of movement could come as soon as Wednesday, but no deal has been announced. Iran's chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused Trump of staging "theater diplomacy" on Thursday, saying Washington and Tehran offered conflicting accounts of bilateral engagement.

Oil Flows Reshaped by Closure

The standoff has already reshaped global energy flows. Before the war began Feb. 28, 138 vessels typically passed through the strait in a 24-hour period; Kpler now counts an average of 13 per day, with most using an Iranian-approved northern route. Iran and Oman say they are in the final stages of an agreement to define transit routes, with inbound traffic using Iranian waters and outbound traffic using Omani waters.

The blockade has also paralyzed Iran's main export hub. All three terminals at Kharg Island have sat empty for extended periods, with the western terminal seeing no loadings for 22 consecutive days, according to shipping analysts at Windward. Iranian exports via Kharg, a critical source of regime revenue, have largely halted.

The conflict is broadening beyond the strait. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defense pact in Mecca on Friday, and the Houthis claimed an attack on Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Sunday. Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reshuffled the country's military leadership Monday, appointing a veteran Revolutionary Guards commander as head of the Supreme National Security Council.

The last time the U.S. and Iran faced off over the strait, in 2019, oil prices spiked but the waterway never fully closed. This time, the closure has persisted for more than five months, and with both sides now demanding compensation, the path to reopening looks longer than the Trump administration signaled last week.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.