• Iran rejects claim, says waterway remains blocked until conditions are met
•Only eight vessels transited on Tuesday, down from 130 daily before war
• Six killed as Houthis strike ship in Bab el- Mandeb strait
Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
US President Donald Trump yesterday claimed that the United States has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, as shipping traffic through the strategic waterway fell to its lowest level in a week amid the continuing war with Iran.
Trump made the claim in a post on Truth Social, saying the United States would retain control of the waterway, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies normally passes.
“The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it!” Trump wrote, describing the US naval blockade as a “wall of steel” and insisting that Iran could do little to challenge it.
Iran, however, rejected the claim, maintaining that the strait remains blocked.
The Persian Gulf Strait Authority said in a statement that “claims and repeated posts by U.S. officials that the Strait of Hormuz is no longer blocked do not change the reality”, adding that the waterway would not be reopened until Iran’s conditions were accepted.
The dispute came as commercial shipping through the strait continued to collapse. Only eight vessels were tracked transiting the waterway on Tuesday, according to Kpler data reported by Reuters, below a 10-day average of about 12 vessels and the lowest daily figure since August 5.
Before the war began on February 28, about 130 ships passed through the strategic waterway each day.
The disruption has heightened concerns over global oil supplies and energy prices, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) cutting its 2026 oil demand forecast as the prolonged closure of the waterway weighs on consumption.
Brent crude was trading around $89.08 a barrel early Wednesday, while US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) stood at $83.53.
The IEA said global oil supplies rose by 2.4 million barrels per day in July to 101.5 million bpd, but remained 6.3 million bpd below the level recorded a year earlier.
It now expects global oil supply to fall by an average of 4.3 million bpd this year, citing renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions in July and early August.
“The ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz and elevated fuel prices continue to weigh on oil consumption,” the agency said.
The crisis has also spread beyond the strait, with renewed attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea raising fears of further disruption along another critical global trade route.
At least six people were reportedly killed aboard a cargo vessel off Yemen in an attack attributed to the Houthis, marking the first known deaths from Houthi attacks on shipping in the region during the latest escalation.
The United States has also intensified enforcement of its blockade of Iranian ports. US Central Command said an American military helicopter fired two Hellfire missiles at the engine room of a Panama-flagged vessel, the Vela Nova, after the crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings and attempted to sail towards Iran.
CENTCOM said the vessel was no longer transiting to Iran in violation of the blockade, adding that US forces had disabled three non-compliant vessels, boarded two and redirected 55 commercial vessels attempting to bypass the blockade as of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict remain uncertain. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that there had been no discussions on extending a ceasefire because, from Tehran’s perspective, no ceasefire had been established.
The source said talks through mediators were focused on the possibility of Washington returning to an interim agreement and establishing a timeframe for implementing commitments, but added that there had been “absolutely no progress” on the issue.
Also, four crew members and two rescuers were killed in an attack by Iran-backed Houthis on a cargo ship in the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, Yemen’s transport ministry said, while the U.S. military said it struck a container ship attempting to sail toward an Iranian port.
The fatalities aboard the Egyptian-owned Tihamah, would mark the first deaths in a Houthi strike on shipping since the Iran war began on February 28.
Later in the day, the Houthis confirmed they attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb, which they said was carrying Saudi military equipment but did not name the ship.
The British navy-affiliated agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported one incident in the strait on Tuesday, saying a ship was hit by an unknown projectile.
Reuters was able to confirm the cargo ship as Tihamah by the shape of the deck and mast of the ship, which matched archive imagery of the vessel. Corroborating visuals from the dock matched satellite imagery and topography mapping of the area.
Ship-tracking data showed the vessel Tihamah near Murad, Yemen, on August 11. The date was verified by two Yemeni coast guard sources and two military officials in the government who said a small cargo ship was attacked by Houthis. British maritime security company Ambrey also said there was an attack on the vessel on August 11.
Three Pakistanis were killed in the attack, Pakistan’s foreign minister confirmed. The Yemeni ministry said one Indonesian was also killed, adding the crew lost control of the vessel after being attacked.
Two rescuers from the National Resistance Forces (NRF), an anti-Houthi force, were also killed when the Houthis struck again after rescue crews arrived, the Yemeni Coast Guard said.
Ten people were injured, including seven crew members, two Coast Guard personnel and one NRF member, according to the Coast Guard.