Trump Repeats Claim of 'Complete Control' Over Hormuz, Facing Growing Criticism

[Anchor]

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that the U.S. has complete control over the Strait of Hormuz. However, criticism is growing within the U.S. that these claims do not match reality.

Here is a report from Washington correspondent Jeon Byeong-nam.

[Reporter]

This is a post uploaded by U.S. President Donald Trump to social media last night (the 12th, Korea time).

He wrote, "The United States has complete control over the Strait of Hormuz," adding that "the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is decimated, Iran has no money left, and all that remains is fake news and 300% inflation."

This is a repetition of his previous claim that the U.S. holds the upper hand in the strait.

[Donald Trump / U.S. President (on the 10th): Currently, the only ones controlling the Strait of Hormuz are the U.S. Navy. We are maintaining an ironclad blockade. It is a steel wall.]

The Wall Street Journal criticized Trump's claim, reporting that "11 out of 14 ships that passed through the strait on the 11th chose routes under Iranian jurisdiction."

An analysis from a U.S. think tank also emerged, stating that "Iran is maintaining a certain level of control in Hormuz by leveraging the fear of physical danger."

Turkey's state-run news agency reported, citing a government source from the intermediary country Pakistan, that the U.S. and Iran have agreed to extend the soon-to-expire 60-day ceasefire.

In response, the Iranian side denied the report, retorting that "from Iran's perspective, there was no starting date for a ceasefire, so there is nothing to extend."

Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, also reaffirmed his hardline stance.

Meanwhile, the White House Correspondents' Association expressed concern to the White House over the fact that reporters acted as a sort of "decoy" while President Trump switched planes to evade an alleged assassination threat from Iran.

They also demanded that emergency security response procedures be established together.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video by Oh Jung-shik, Video Editing by Lee Seung-jin, Design by Kim Na-mi)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.