Iran's Foreign Minister Says Strait of Hormuz Open to All Except US, Israel

On Saturday, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sat down with a television interviewer and drew a stark line across one of the world's most critical waterways. The Strait of Hormuz, he said, remains open—but only to countries that are not attacking Iran. For the United States and Israel, passage is closed.

This declaration came in the immediate aftermath of what American officials described as the most powerful bombing campaign ever launched in the Middle East. The target was Kharg Island, Iran's crucial oil production hub. The strikes were a direct response to Iranian threats against shipping in the Strait itself, a narrow passage through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil flows each day. The escalation had been building for weeks, with Iran targeting vessels and the US now striking back at the infrastructure that fuels Iran's economy.

Araghchi told the interviewer that Iran's armed forces had already made clear they would retaliate if their oil and energy infrastructure continued to be attacked. The threat was specific: Iran would strike any energy facility in the region that belonged to an American company or had American shareholders. The previous night's bombing of Kharg Island and Abu Musa Island, he said, had been carried out using HIMARS—advanced rocket systems with limited range. This meant they could not have been fired from Iranian territory. Araghchi's conclusion was direct: the rockets had come from the United Arab Emirates, from two locations—one near Ras Al Khaimah and another close to Dubai. The fact that these strikes were launched from densely populated areas, he noted, was particularly dangerous.

When pressed on whether Iran would allow ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, Araghchi offered a carefully worded answer. The waterway was not closed, he insisted. It was simply closed to vessels belonging to Iran's enemies and their allies. Other ships, he said, were free to transit. Many chose not to, he acknowledged, but that was their decision based on security concerns—not Iran's doing. He repeated the distinction: the Strait remained open to all except American and Israeli tankers and ships.

Meanwhile, President Trump was taking a different rhetorical approach. On the same Saturday, he declared that the United States had "beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way." He called on countries affected by the Strait's closure to send additional warships to the region to guarantee safe passage for ships and oil. Trump's message was blunt: the US would continue bombing Iran's shoreline and shooting Iranian boats out of the water until the Strait was, in his words, "OPEN, SAFE, and FREE."

The two positions were irreconcilable. Iran claimed it was keeping the waterway open while defending itself against attack. The United States insisted the Strait was effectively closed and that military force was the only solution. Neither side showed signs of backing down. The stakes were enormous—not just for the two countries locked in confrontation, but for every nation whose economy depended on oil flowing through those waters. The risk was that each retaliatory strike would trigger another, pulling the region deeper into conflict and threatening the global energy supply that the modern world depends on.