By Tooba Khan, Patrick Sykes, and Audrey Wan
Aug 12, 2026 (Bloomberg) - President Donald Trump stated that the US has "total control over the Hormuz Strait" as tensions mount between Washington and Tehran during stalled negotiations regarding this vital waterway.
“We own it,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, just outside Washington. This statement comes despite Iran’s ongoing attacks on vessels passing through the strait. Trump warned, “At some point, maybe they’ll do something, and then they get blown away.”
For months, Trump has wavered between threatening renewed attacks on Iran and expressing hope that discussions to conclude the US's conflict with the Islamic Republic are moving forward. His recent comments followed a statement by Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khawaja Asif, who said that both sides are “close to some sort of arrangement” regarding Hormuz, which remains a key issue.
This increasing tension raises further doubts about the possibility of an immediate agreement over the strait, through which one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas passed before the US and Israel began targeting Iran on February 28. Although a temporary peace deal was reached in June, ongoing clashes and disruptions to maritime traffic render the agreement practically ineffective.
Qatar and Pakistan have been involved in mediating the conflict, which has resulted in thousands of casualties. On Wednesday, the office of Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that he conveyed a message from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir to Iran's leadership. Naqvi is assisting Munir, who is spearheading the negotiations.
According to Al Jazeera, talks between Iran and Oman to reopen Hormuz for some maritime shipping have progressed significantly, as reported by a spokesperson from the Qatari Foreign Ministry. While the US is not directly involved in these discussions, it has resumed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Mohsen Rezaee, the newly appointed secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, indicated that any agreement with Oman regarding the strait would be separate from a full reopening, according to the state-run IRIB. The specific conditions Iran may impose on shipping through this waterway remain uncertain.
Iran has communicated further demands to Washington via intermediaries, which include calls for the US to end the war and unfreeze Iranian assets. Rezaee made these comments following a meeting with the Chinese ambassador to Iran, Cong Peiwu, in Tehran.
“We are definitely at a stalemate,” stated Wendy Sherman, former US deputy secretary of state, during an interview with Bloomberg TV. “Unless the US is willing to allow Iran and possibly Oman to set voluntary tolls or grant Iran significant relief from sanctions and access to frozen assets, reopening the strait sustainably will be unlikely.”
“The reality is that for the foreseeable future, if not indefinitely, Iran will control the Strait of Hormuz,” she added.