Iran Says it Forced US to the Table as Trump Claims ‘100% Control’ of Strait of Hormuz

Iran is claiming victory at the negotiating table. Washington is claiming control of the battlefield.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday that Iran had proved itself a “tough and invincible power” during its recent conflict with the US and Israel, ultimately forcing its adversaries to seek negotiations, Iranian news agency ISNA reported.

“Ultimately [we] forced the enemy to request negotiations,” Araghchi said while speaking at a meeting at Iran's Ministry of Health. He praised the country's armed forces and civilians for holding out during the conflict, saying Iran had surprised the world with its resistance. Araghchi said officials from other countries had told him that Iran had “created a miracle” through its resistance.

He also argued that Tehran had demonstrated its ability to defend its interests through both military resistance and diplomacy. “You won the war, you won diplomacy,” he said, recounting what foreign officials had told him. Araghchi went further, saying Iran had also “won morality, honour, and dignity”, crediting the sacrifices of Iranian citizens and medical workers who continued working during the conflict.

Araghchi's remarks come as Trump has adopted an entirely different tone over the strategic waterway. Speaking at the Oval Office on Monday, Trump claimed that the US Navy has “100 per cent” control of the Strait of Hormuz, describing the American blockade as an “infallible” “steel wall”. He said Washington was allowing selected vessels through while preventing ships from entering the strait to reach Iran.

The comments underline the starkly different positions emerging from Tehran and Washington. Iran says its resistance forced negotiations. Trump says the US controls the gateway. And with the Strait of Hormuz remaining at the centre of the confrontation, the competing claims are likely to shape whatever comes next.

(With inputs from ANI)