Trump claims he could jointly control the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s supreme leader as Tehran denies any talks (VIDEOS, PHOTOS)
- Mar 23
- 6 min read
Source: RT News
The US president has announced that he believes he and “the next Ayatollah” could control the passage through which a fifth of global oil production flows
The Strait of Hormuz could be “open very soon” if diplomatic talks go well with Iran, US President Donald Trump told reporters this morning. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, however, has flatly denied the US president’s claims that any talks have taken place, either directly nor through an intermediary.
Asked if Iran would still be able to control the crucial waterway, one of the world’s busiest oil shipping channels, Trump replied it would be “jointly controlled” by him and “whoever the next Ayatollah” is. Tehran, however, has already announced the Islamic Republic's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump also claimed that there will also be “a very serious form of a regime change” inside Iran.
Trump upped the ante over the weekend, threatening strikes on Iranian energy facilities if Tehran did not lift its threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, to which Iran responded by publishing a list of power stations and energy facilities across the Gulf that it would target. Iran has kept the vital shipping route closed to most vessels since February 28, when the US and Israel launched the first wave of strikes against the country.
International markets have responded predictably to the first sign of de-escalation in the four-week war.
Meanwhile Israel is expanding ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the IDF has destroyed several bridges across the strategic Litani River.
At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28, the country’s Health Ministry has said.
Here are the latest developments:
Trump has announced that he called off strikes targeting Iranian energy facilities, following alleged “productive conversations” with Tehran.
Tehran has denied that any conversations took place with the US. “Trump should lift his head a little from his phone and social networks and from now on keep his eyes only on the sky, stock exchanges, and oil prices,” a military source told Tasnim News Agency.
Trump’s announcement coincided with significant losses on European markets and triggered an ongoing bounce, as well as a 10% drop in the price of crude oil.
Iran has kept the crucial waterway largely closed to vessels linked to the US and Israel since the outbreak of the war. The disruption – affecting a route carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies – has already pushed crude prices higher and heightened concerns over a prolonged global supply shock.
Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.
23 March 2026
22:06 GMT
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has touted the national unity and sacrifices of the armed forces, as thousands of Iranians poured into the streets in a show of support for the country’s government earlier on Monday, according to footage circulated by state media.
“I kiss the hands and arms of the brave members of the armed forces and the devoted defenders of our homeland,” Pezeshkian wrote on X. “The country’s bright future, and the safe and peaceful tomorrow of its children, are owed to the people’s resilience and steadfastness, and their sacred unity with those who protect Iran.”
21:43 GMT
Iranian air defense units intercepted and shot down a US unmanned aerial vehicle as it flew over the Persian Gulf coastline, Iran’s Southeastern Air Defense Headquarters said in a brief statement.
According to footage circulated by Iranian media, the intercepted drone was a Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS), a near-copy of Iran’s cheap and effective Shahed-136.
21:21 GMT
Iran will “use every capability to ensure security as necessary,” a spokesman for the Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari, told state media.
Tehran “controls the Strait of Hormuz very intelligently and powerfully,” Zolfaghari said, warning that “extra-regional countries do not have the right to interfere.”
According to Fars news agency, Zolfaghari also said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has carried out “extensive attacks” in Iraq’s Erbil, targeted US forces at al-Dhafra airbase in the UAE and at Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, struck the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, and launched missiles at the Israeli cities of Ashkelon, Tel Aviv, Haifa and the Gush Dan area.
The IRGC reiterated that President Trump’s “deceitful” behavior will not make Iran “neglect the war front and the battle with the adversary,” asserting that the US and Israel “will continue to retreat.”
21:05 GMT
An Israeli air strike in Tyre, a city in southern Lebanon, targeted a civil defense ambulance, resulting in the death of one medic, according to Al Jazeera.
Four others are wounded.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon since March 2 have displaced more than 1.16 million people, according to the country’s authorities. At least 1,039 people have since been killed.
20:51 GMT
UK destroyer has now arrived in the eastern Mediterranean and is ready to “begin operational integration into Cyprus’s defences”, according to the UK’s Defence Ministry.
Britain’s HMS Dragon departed from the UK on March 11 and is assigned the mission of defending a British airbase in Cyprus, which has recently been targeted by an Iranian-made drone.
”Royal Air Force Typhoons and F-35 jets continued their defensive missions overnight including over Cyprus, Jordan, Qatar and Bahrain,” the ministry added.
20:43 GMT
Iran sees “no need” to lay mines in the Persian Gulf, a spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement published by IRIB state television.
”The armed forces ... are capable of ensuring the security of the Persian Gulf, and extra-regional countries have no right to intervene in this area,” he said.
20:20 GMT
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has spoken with his counterparts in Oman, South Korea, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan.
He discussed recent US-Israeli attacks on provinces adjacent to the Caspian Sea with Azerbaijani minister and “warned of the security and environmental consequences”, according to IRNA news agency.
During the call with South Korean counterpart, Araghchi discussed the economic impacts of the Strait of Hormuz closure.
19:59 GMT
US Central Command (CENTCOM) claims it’s attacked more than 9,000 targets in Iran and damaged or destroyed 140 Iranian vessels since February 28.
Despite Trump’s comments that talks are underway with Iran to halt hostilities, CENTCOM said that attacks on the Islamic Republic continue.
19:30 GMT
Saeed Jalili, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator, has ridiculed Trump’s suggestion that the US president could “jointly control” the Strait of Hormuz with “the next Ayatollah.”
“This is the very definition of a retreat,” Jalini declared, concluding that “Iran’s power has brought the United States to the table of realities.” Jalini’s tweet included the hashtag “TACOTrump,” an acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out,” commonly used by his political opponents in Washington.
19:17 GMT
Iran will not lay mines in the Persian Gulf, as it already “has taken initiative in the Persian Gulf region and the territorial waters of Oman, and skillfully and powerfully controls the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has announced.
23 March 2026
19:17 GMT
Iran will not lay mines in the Persian Gulf, as it already “has taken initiative in the Persian Gulf region and the territorial waters of Oman, and skillfully and powerfully controls the Strait of Hormuz,” Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari has announced.
Zolfaghari said that Iran will continue to “use all available means to ensure security” in the region. Separately, an Iranian official told Al Jazeera that the idea of mining the strait remains on the table in Tehran.
18:59 GMT
Netanyhau just released a video statement, announcing that he has spoken to Trump about “an agreement” with Iran “that protects our vital interests.”
According to the Israeli PM, Trump “believes that there is a chance to leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to achieve the goals of the war through an agreement.”
Israel will “protect our vital interests in every situation,” and “is continuing to strike, in Iran and in Lebanon,” he added.
18:48 GMT
Türkiye, Pakistan, and Egypt have been shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran over the past two days, Axios has reported, citing an American source. The three countries’ foreign ministers have reportedly held separate talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on ending the war and “resolving all outstanding issues.” Tehran insists there is “no dialogue” with Washington, saying Trump’s claims are aimed at lowering energy prices and buying time for military plans.
Oil prices nosedived following Trump’s remarks on Monday, with Brent dropping from an intraday high of $113 a barrel to as low as $96 before rebounding to around $102.
18:44 GMT
Israel is aware that preparations are underway for direct talks between the US and Iran, Axios journalist Barak Ravid has reported, citing sources in the Israeli government. Shortly afterwards, Ravid added that US Vice President JD Vance spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about a potential deal with Iran.
However, Trump’s claim that “contacts are progressing,” and that Washington and Tehran have reached agreement on certain points took the Israelis by surprise, he added. Iran still maintains that no discussions have taken place.
”Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf wrote on social media. “All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved.”
