Trump says the United States has fully seized the Strait of Hormuz... actual traffic is at about 10% of prewar levels

[Financial News]  

U.S. President Donald Trump repeated on the 12th, local time, that the United States is fully controlling the Strait of Hormuz. However, maritime intelligence firm Kpler said only 14 ships passed through Hormuz the previous day.
As Washington's top objective in the war with Iran shifts from eliminating Iran's nuclear capabilities to reopening Hormuz, it has once again become clear that the United States is unable to move freely against Iran's tactics.

In a post on Truth Social that day, Trump said, "The United States has fully seized the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "I think we will keep it that way."
According to CNN, he had told reporters the previous day, "They are not in control. We are in full control. We have it." Trump also claimed, "At some point, they may do that, but then everything will be blown up." He stressed, "Right now, we are in a very good position."
On the 10th, Trump also claimed that the United States had removed all mines from the shipping route, saying that meant Hormuz was "open."
In a post on Truth Social on the 12th, he said the U.S. maritime blockade against Iran is what everyone calls a "steel wall," and that Iran can do nothing about it.
Trump claimed that "Iran has no navy, no air force. The remaining soldiers are not even getting paid, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is collapsing and fleeing," adding that the leadership is, at best, in an uncertain state.
He went on to say, "They have no money, and the country is broken," adding, "All that is left is fake news and 300% inflation, and the situation is getting worse."

Despite Trump's claim that the United States has fully seized Hormuz and has complete control of the situation, the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively under blockade.
That matches Iran's warning that the strait will not be reopened until the United States accepts its demands.
CNN reported on the 12th, citing Kpler, that only 14 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on the 11th.
Although that was a slight increase from the previous weekend, it is effectively close to being blocked when compared with the start of the war with Iran on Feb. 28. Before Trump launched the war with Iran, traffic through Hormuz stood at about 120 ships a day. That means traffic has shrunk to just over 10% of prewar levels.
Despite Trump's claim that the United States is in full control, most ships are still passing through the Strait of Hormuz via the route approved by Iran. The United States has warned ships not to use that route.
Kpler said traffic through the strait has edged up slightly, but "the increase is not turning into a return to normal."
Of the 14 ships that passed through Hormuz the previous day, 11 traveled along the route approved by Iran. Kpler also said none of the ships used the central route through the strait, which most vessels took before the war.


[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter