U.S. President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that the United States had "total control" over the Strait of Hormuz and will "keep it."
Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. naval blockade of the waterway had been described as a "wall of steel" and said Iran lacked the capability to challenge it.
In remarks to reporters at the White House on Monday, Trump said the U.S. had "mine swept the entire strait" and that the U.S. Navy holds "100 percent" control over the strategic waterway.
Despite Iran's insistence that Washington must meet its demands before reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the waterway "is actually open now" and that "the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy."
He also said that although Iran still occasionally lays mines, U.S. forces will clear them.
