Trump Says Iran Is Under Control as Hegseth Says U.S. Controls Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had Iran “very much under control” as he left for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, adding, “We’re either going to make a deal or they’re going to be decimated. One way or the other, we win.”

“Trump and Hegseth claim ‘control’ over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire talks are stalled Trump and Hegseth claim ‘control’ over Iran and the Strait of Hormuz as ceasefire talks are stalled DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait said on Tuesday that Iran launched a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Gulf Arab country”

Associated Press

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told members of Congress that “Ultimately we control the strait, because nothing’s going in that we don’t allow to go in,” while the narrow Strait of Hormuz remained in Iran’s chokehold and the U.S. maintained a blockade against Iran.

Associated Press

The AP reported that Kuwait accused Iran of launching a failed attack earlier this month on an island where China is helping build a port in the Gulf Arab country, with the accusation coming just hours before Trump was to depart for Beijing.

AP also said Iranian state media quoted the country’s foreign ministry calling Kuwait’s allegation “baseless,” and that the allegation and ongoing attacks in the region threatened to reignite open warfare.

The same AP account said negotiations between Iran and the U.S. appeared at a standstill as Israel sent Iron Dome air-defense weapons and personnel to the United Arab Emirates, according to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

Kuwait said a paramilitary Revolutionary Guard team tried to infiltrate Bubiyan Island in the northwest corner of the Persian Gulf near Iraq and Iran on May 1, and Kuwait said it detained four men while two escaped.

The AP reported that a statement attributed to Iran’s foreign ministry said four officers on a “conventional maritime patrol mission” had entered Kuwait’s waters because of “a disruption in the navigation system,” denying any hostile intent and calling for the men’s release.

FOX4KC

NewsNation said Trump published a Truth Social message calling media commentary on the status of the Iranian military “virtually treason,” and Trump wrote that “All it does is give Iran false hope when none should exist.”

The AP also said the accusation by Kuwait came just hours before Trump was to depart for Beijing, and that Iran didn’t immediately acknowledge the allegation by Kuwait.

In the same AP account, Kazem Gharibabadi, an Iranian diplomat, said Tuesday on X, “True peace cannot be built with a literature of humiliation, threats, and coercive score-settling.”

On Capitol Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced tough questions from Republican and Democratic lawmakers about the Trump administration’s end game for the Iran war, the conflict’s rising $29 billion cost, and its impact on diminishing U.S. weapons stockpiles.

“US president Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would have a "long talk" about Iran with Xi but said trade would be a bigger focus”

India TV News

PBS, citing the Associated Press, said Pentagon officials told lawmakers that the cost of the Iran war has risen to about $29 billion, with roughly $24 billion related to replacing munitions and repairing equipment, and that the estimate was up from $25 billion revealed by Pentagon comptroller Jay Hurst.

Hegseth told lawmakers, “I take issue with the characterization that munitions are depleted in a public forum,” while he also said the administration was working to ramp up production of weapons.

PBS reported that Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine testified in Senate and House Appropriations subcommittee hearings, and that the discussions veered into the handling of a war that appeared locked in a stalemate as higher fuel prices posed political problems for Republicans in the midterm congressional elections.

The Hill reported that Republicans in both the House and Senate pressed Hegseth on Trump’s $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request, with Rep. Ken Calvert saying “questions persist” about how the resources translate into “real, measurable improvements in warfighting capability.”