In a Sunday morning address clarifying American military posture in the Middle East, Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced that the United States now exercises full control over the Strait of Hormuz and will direct all vessel traffic through the critical waterway without Iran’s cooperation or consent.
The declaration was made as U.S. personnel evacuated the Aqaba International Airport and adjoining seaport in Jordan following what the embassy described as “credible threats” from Iranian retaliatory strikes. Satellite imagery confirmed at least two MQ-9 Reaper drones destroyed on the ground in the region over the past 72 hours.
Wright, speaking from what aides described as an undisclosed location, outlined Captain Comb-Over’s vision for de-escalation with Iran: total capitulation. “President the former president wants to end it with a peaceful agreement,” Wright said. “But it takes two parties to do that. If they’re ready, that’s the way it’ll end. If not, we will continue to assure flow of traffic through the strait without Iran’s cooperation.”
The strait, a 21-mile-wide choke point through which one-fifth of global oil consumption passes, has been jointly managed by Iran and Oman under international law since the 1970s. The former president’s assertion of unilateral control appears to rest on the successful transit of a single U.S.-flagged tanker on Saturday, which one administration official described as “a beautiful, very deep-water victory.”
In a separate statement, the U.S. Embassy in Amman confirmed the closure of the Aqaba complex “until further notice” but declined to comment on reports of at least two American casualties from Iranian ballistic missile strikes on bases in Jordan. A Pentagon press release issued Sunday evening noted only that “force protection measures continue to evolve as necessary.”
The operational disconnect between the Secretary’s remarks and conditions on the ground did not slow the administration’s media rollout. Fox News aired a segment Sunday morning questioning the safety of a New York City parks department program offering free babysitting. The segment, hosted by a contributor who described the initiative as “commie kindergarten,” was followed by a brief mention of the Iran situation before a commercial break for survival food kits.
Regional analysts struggled to reconcile the Energy Department’s jurisdictional claim with the evacuation of personnel from a country that does not border the strait. “The U.S. saying it controls Hormuz while pulling diplomats out of Jordan is like a lifeguard declaring control of the ocean after running inland from a shark,” said one former CENTCOM analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was laughing too hard to give his name.
Wright concluded his remarks by reiterating that the strait was “open for business” and that any vessel seeking passage need only submit a formal request to the U.S. Energy Department, whose current staffing level he estimated at “most of the people who are left.” The Aqaba seaport remained closed Sunday night, its approach lanes guarded by a single harbor patrol boat bearing a hand-painted sign reading “Temporarily Invincible.”
