Iran called on the United States to admit defeat on Tuesday, while US President Donald Trump sharply criticized Tehran, calling it "very evil" and telling Americans to prepare for continued high fuel prices as a result of the war, Reuters news agency reported.
Progress towards peace talks and oil tanker traffic through the strategic Strait of Hormuz remain suspended, with no sign that the warring parties are moving towards ending the conflict that was initiated by the United States and Israel on February 28, according to Reuters.
"This strait will be opened and closed solely on Iran's orders, and until you accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Garibabadi posted on the X network.
Gasoline in the US is 29 percent more expensive than a year ago, Iran is also feeling the effects
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran has not made a decision on whether to resume negotiations with the United States. In an interview with Iranian media outlet Shahrara News published today, he said Washington must meet conditions related to the strait in order for navigation to be restored through the waterway, which carried a fifth of the world's oil before the war.
Trump has urged Americans to accept slightly higher gas prices while the conflict continues.
At a political rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, he said it was worth paying "a little more for gas" to ensure that "a very evil country" could not possess nuclear weapons, one of the reasons he gave for the war.
"After we finish defeating Iran... I will very soon declare the Strait of Hormuz territory of the United States of America," Trump said.
Throughout the conflict, the US president has alternately threatened escalation and claimed that a peace agreement was on the horizon.
In a trend that has fueled inflation and disappointed voters, the average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States on Friday was about $4,08, up 29 percent from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
Trump, a Republican, campaigned for reelection on a promise to lower energy costs, while Democrats are seeking to make the consequences of the war one of the issues in the November congressional elections, according to Reuters.
Crude oil futures rose $1 a barrel on Friday, with benchmark Brent crude on track to post a weekly gain of 6,0 percent and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude up 5,4 percent.
Tehran has also stepped up its rhetoric in recent days, while attempts to permanently end the war appear to have hit a dead end, according to Reuters.
"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be occupied with a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing orders or giving an election speech," Garibabadi said.
Despite Iran's defiant tone, there are also signs that the country is suffering economic consequences.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a statement on state television, blamed the high inflation on the US blockade of Iranian ports and sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Crude oil ships do not pass through the strait.
Trump and US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant have promised additional measures that would inflict even greater financial damage on Iran.
Besant told Newsmax's "Rob Schmidt Tonight" on Thursday that new measures against Iran will be announced next week.
Tehran calls its enforcement of traffic control through the strait a blockade – the same term Washington uses to describe the threat to Iranian ships leaving ports.
"What we're doing is a great service to the world, not just to ourselves... and we're really doing a great job," Trump said.
Only two ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, with no visible crude shipments, according to analysis by shipping tracking company Kpler. Some ships may be passing through the strait undetected, with their transponders off, but that falls far short of the more than 130 ships that passed through daily before the war.
Ships that dare to sail through the strait without Iranian permission risk missile or drone attacks.
The United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking a third ship operated by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company as it passed through the strait on Friday, state news agency VAM reported. The Emirates had previously blamed Iran for two other incidents involving ADNOC ships in the strait on Thursday evening.
Britain's Maritime Trade Operations Centre said the hull of a cargo ship was hit by an unidentified projectile in the strait on Friday. It was not immediately clear whether it was the same incident involving the ADNOC ship.
The interim June agreement to end the war has virtually collapsed.
"First of all, we didn't even have a ceasefire that we would now like to extend. We had an 'end of the war,' and now there is a new situation," Arakchi said.
Attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have renewed concerns about the potential spread of the regional war. Yemen's internationally recognized government said the Houthis fired six ballistic missiles at the Red Sea port of Moha on Friday, killing four civilians.
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