Iran: US Must 'Accept Defeat' to Reopen Hormuz
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- Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, posted on X that the Strait of Hormuz "will be opened and closed only under Iran's command" and cannot be seized "by a tweet or an aircraft carrier."
- Trump told a Garden City, NY rally that paying "a tiny little bit more for gasoline" is the cost of preventing "a very evil country" from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
- Average US gasoline prices hit $4.08/gallon Friday, up 29% from $3.16 a year earlier per AAA, as Democrats target the war's economic fallout ahead of November midterms.
- Only two vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday per Kpler, down from more than 130 daily before the Feb 28 war; UAE's Abu Dhabi National Oil Company reported attacks on its vessels Thursday and Friday.
- Brent and WTI crude futures were on track for weekly gains of 6.0% and 5.4% respectively, with crude up another $1/barrel Friday on the strait's virtual closure.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax that new financial measures against Iran would be announced next week.
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed inflation on a US blockade of Iranian ports and oil export sanctions, acknowledging economic strain inside Iran.
Why it matters: US drivers are paying $4.08/gallon — up 29% year-over-year — as Iran holds Hormuz hostage to extract a US admission of 'defeat.' With Brent crude up 6% on the week and November midterms approaching, Democrats gain a potent cost-of-living weapon, while Iran's own president publicly blames inflation on US sanctions — a rare admission of economic strain from Tehran.
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