The US and Iran Are Fighting Over Who Controls a Crucial Waterway
On 13 August 2026, the United States and Iran made completely opposite claims about who controls the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump said Washington holds "total control." Iran said the strait will stay closed until the US changes its policies.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. It is one of the most important shipping routes in the world because a large share of the world's oil passes through it. Whoever controls the strait has enormous influence over global energy supplies.
The back-and-forth capped a week of conflicting messages. Trump told reporters on 11 August that the strait is "open" and that the US Navy has "swept it," while also saying, "I don't trust Iran" (ABC News. Later that day he demanded compensation from Iran for people he said were killed by the country. This was a direct response to Iran saying it would not reopen the strait unless the US made concessions (Al Jazeera. By 9 August, Reuters reported that hopes for a deal were fading as Trump added reparations to his demands, matching Iran's own calls for compensation (Reuters.
Iran's position, shared through its state-run news agency IRNA, is that the strait will remain closed until Washington changes course. On 9 August, IRNA reported that Iranian officials laid out a list of conditions tied to US policy shifts (IRNA. Three days later, the same outlet reported that Iran rejected the idea that it lacks moral or legal standing to demand the strait's reopening, arguing instead that Washington has no such standing to make that demand of Tehran (IRNA. In June, Iran had rejected claims of a closure altogether, stating that commercial shipping continues (IRNA.
That June statement does not fit cleanly with Iran's later position that the strait's status depends on US concessions. The contradiction reflects the gap between what Iran says in formal legal terms and what is actually happening on the water, where both sides describe a partial disruption.
The conflict goes back to at least April 2026. That month, the US State Department published a legal analysis titled "Operation Epic Fury and International Law," discussing countries seeking to freely exercise transit rights through the strait (US State Department. The document placed US military operations within a framework of international law. At the same time, Iranian officials argued that "sustainable security" in the strait requires the "cessation of US aggression," citing what they called unlawful US actions including efforts to impose a naval blockade (IRNA.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in July that "parties are not complying" with obligations to keep the strait open, free of tolls, and free of attacks (US State Department. The White House's "Wins and Achievements" page, last updated in October 2025, claims the US is positioned for a full reopening through diplomatic progress and has secured "control elements" in the strait (White House.
Trump's tone has shifted repeatedly. On 2 August he said talks were under way and warned it was a "last chance" for Tehran to sign a deal (Reuters. On 5 August he said an announcement on the strait's reopening could come soon (AP News. By 10 August, he was scoffing at Iran's demand that the US pay for devastation caused by the war (AP News, and by 13 August he was back to declaring "total control."
A proposed deal, helped along by Oman and aimed at ending roughly five months of US-Iran fighting, would give Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-iran-having-very-good-discussions-trump-says-2026-08-05/.
The broader picture is that both sides are demanding compensation from the other, each claims to be in control, and neither is backing down. Iran believes the US will eventually give in to its conditions (AP News. The US believes its naval power can keep the strait open on its own terms. These opposing assumptions have left very little room for a compromise.
The conflict also involves a disagreement over international law. The US points to transit rights under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a treaty that sets rules for how countries can use the world's oceans. Iran has never signed that treaty. Instead, Iran relies on its own reading of what a country bordering a strait is allowed to do, and it argues that US actions in the waterway are illegal. Neither side accepts the other's legal argument. Five months into open fighting, the dispute is producing more demands, not a pathway to peace.
