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US resumes blockade of Iranian seaports — Trump

President Donald Trump announced the United States is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and resuming its maritime blockade of Iran, saying all other countries will have fair and open use of the waterway. The remarks were made on Fox News and Truth Social, with only Iranian ships or customers affected, according to TASS reporting.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 13, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

President Donald Trump announced on Sunday that the United States is resuming its maritime blockade of Iran and taking control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports from the Russian state news agency TASS. In a live interview on Fox News, Trump said, "We're taking over the Strait [of Hormuz]. They [Iran] have nothing." In a separate statement posted on Truth Social, the US leader said, "We are reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait."

Coverage comparison

The two TASS reports present consistent information on the new US policy, but they emphasize different aspects. One article focuses on the claim that the United States is "taking control" of the Strait, with the president speaking informally on Fox News. The other stresses that the blockade "resumes" an earlier measure, quoting the president's more detailed written statement on Truth Social. Both reports describe the measure as directed solely at Iran, with no restrictions on other nations. Neither report of these quotes includes any immediate reaction from Iranian officials or other governments.

The agency's reporting also inserts the policy announcement within a broader stream of related news in the region, including both the Iranian statement about joint projects between Iran and Russia, and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps's claim that it struck a US base in Jordan with missiles and drones as part of an ongoing "retaliation operation." The connection between these developments and the President's blockade announcement is not fully explored in the articles.

Key claims

According to TASS, President Trump said the United States is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran has nothing, in comments aired on Fox News.
TASS reports that the President also said the United States is reinstating a maritime blockade of Iran, which "only" stops Iranian ships or customers from entering or leaving, while all other countries will have fair and open use of the waterway.
The claim was attributed to President Trump and disseminated through two TASS articles on July 13.

Perspectives

No other official statements or reactions were included in the material provided. The articles do not contain a distinct viewpoint from the Iranian government, the US government beyond the President's own remarks, or third-party analysts. Hence, a perspectives section is not included.

How this outlet told it

TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

Framing: US taking control of Strait of Hormuz — Informative

Facts Included:

The United States is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz
President Donald Trump said Iran has nothing
Trump announced this live on Fox News

Read the source article →

TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

Framing: US resuming maritime blockade of Iran — Informative

Facts Included:

The US is resuming its maritime blockade of Iran
Trump said all other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait
The blockade is only stopping Iran's ships or customers

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimThe United States is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimPresident Donald Trump said Iran has nothing.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe US is resuming its maritime blockade of Iran.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimTrump announced that all other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe blockade is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimSenator Lindsey Graham died at 71.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimAortic dissection is likely the cause of Graham's death.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimTrump ordered to lower US flags to honor late Senator Graham.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimIran agreed to a 'perfect deal' for the US before attacking a ship.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC
ClaimThe US bombed Iran after they attacked a ship.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via TASS — English as of Jul 13, 2026, 6:30 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: TASS — English 10 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15