US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at the Oval Office of the White House on Monday as he signs an executive order on vaccine supply flexibility. [Reuters]
US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters at the Oval Office of the White House on Monday as he signs an executive order on vaccine supply flexibility. [Reuters]

US President Donald Trump claimed Monday that American forces had cleared all mines from the Strait of Hormuz and that the waterway was open.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said the strait "is open right now" and that "the only one controlling the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy." He added that the US had "an airtight blockade that has worked perfectly so far," saying, "We let in the people we want to let in. They're coming in, and they're going out."

He acknowledged some complications, saying Iran "occasionally drops mines" into the strait, but insisted US forces were locating them. "We have swept the entire strait," he said.

The remarks were a direct rebuttal to Iran's claim of control over the waterway. Trump appeared to be trying to dispel market doubts about the strait's reopening by emphasizing that the United States is the sole authority controlling it.

The New York Times pushed back, saying Trump had "once again falsely claimed the Strait of Hormuz is open, in an apparent effort to downplay the severity of the war," and that "in practice, the strait has been effectively closed since the war began."

Trump also said the US had the capability to escalate against Iran but declined to spell out how. Instead, he highlighted Iran's economic troubles — a theme he had also raised Sunday — in what appeared to be a signal that economic pressure would be a key part of his strategy.

"They can cause problems, but they're broke. They can't pay their soldiers. As of last night, the inflation rate is 309 percent," Trump said. Asked whether a large-scale escalation against Iran remained possible, he said, "We have the ability to do that if we want. You'll find out soon" — and said nothing more about specific military options.

Trump also pushed back against Iran's demand for war reparations, arguing that Iran itself owed compensation for past terrorist attacks and the killing of protesters inside the country.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote that the demand "has not been mentioned in any of our negotiations or talks," but called it "an interesting idea, because now I am also asking Iran for reparations."

He cited compensation for "everyone killed or wounded by Iran's roadside bombs and notorious conflicts, which were initially led by General Soleimani" — a reference to the Iranian commander killed by US forces in 2020. He added that the list "includes the families of those killed on the USS Cole, and the thousands of others killed in battle."

The USS Cole attack Trump referenced was a 2000 suicide bombing in Yemen in which a small boat laden with explosives struck the US Navy destroyer, killing 17 sailors. The attack was attributed to al-Qaeda.

Trump said reparations should also go to "the families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protesters killed by Iran over the last 50 years — not to mention the 52,000 killed over the last five months." He said he had directed his negotiating team "to bring this up strongly in all future negotiations."

Iran is unlikely to accept Trump's demands. The move reads less as a genuine effort to extract reparations from Tehran than as a way to reject Iran's own compensation claims outright.

[1일1트] — 'Know Trump, Know the World.' The Herald Business international desk delivers a daily digest of Trump news in under a minute through the [1일1트] newsletter and series. Click 'Original Article' below the headline and byline at the top of this page to read more.

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