Trump urged Iran to make a deal as Tehran renewed threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, raising pressure on shipping and energy markets.
President Trump and Iranian officials traded new warnings Wednesday as the U.S.-Iran standoff continued to squeeze major shipping routes and drive mounting questions in Washington about the cost and direction of the war.
Trump urged Tehran in a social media post to “get smart soon” and make a deal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to CBS News. A senior Iranian lawmaker, meanwhile, renewed Tehran’s warning that if the U.S. continues intercepting Iranian ships, Iran could ask its Houthi allies in Yemen to disrupt the Bab el-Mandeb strait, another critical chokepoint for Middle Eastern energy supplies.
The warnings underscored the central risk in the confrontation: a military and diplomatic deadlock increasingly tied to control of waterways that carry oil and other commercial traffic. Iran has allowed only a few oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz in recent days and has seized two ships it accused of violating its restrictions, CBS reported. The U.S. military says it has forced at least 39 ships to turn around after they attempted to enter or leave Iranian ports in violation of the U.S. blockade.
The White House did not deny Wednesday that the administration is considering keeping the blockade of Iranian ports and vessels in place for months. Deputy White House press secretary Anna Kelly said the blockade has given the United States “maximum leverage over the regime” and that Trump would accept only a deal that protects U.S. national security.
Iran has refused direct peace talks with the United States while the blockade remains in place. Iran’s state-run Press TV, citing an unnamed high-ranking security source, warned Wednesday that a prolonged blockade would draw an unprecedented military response, though it did not provide details.
The confrontation also moved to Capitol Hill, where Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced lawmakers publicly on the Iran war for the first time since the Trump administration began its joint campaign with Israel. Jules Hurst III, the acting undersecretary of war for finances, told the House Armed Services Committee that the war has cost an estimated $25 billion so far, with most of the spending on munitions as well as operations and equipment replacement.
Hurst said the administration would send Congress a supplemental funding request after completing a fuller cost assessment. Hegseth appeared alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a hearing that was formally focused on the Defense Department’s $1.5 trillion budget request but quickly drew questions about the administration’s goals in the Middle East.
The economic strain is spreading beyond Washington. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned that the war is costing the European Union almost 500 million euros, or about $600 million, every day as pressure on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz pushes up fuel costs and raises fears of a jet fuel shortage within weeks.
Diplomatic efforts have not stopped. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said Wednesday that his country’s attempts to help broker a U.S.-Iran agreement are still underway, and he said a ceasefire announced by Trump had been extended to give Iran more time to present a peace proposal. For now, the next test is whether the blockade leads to renewed talks, a longer stalemate or a wider threat to shipping through the region’s energy corridors.
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