Fact Check: Did Trump post 'Only I could have opened the Strait of Hormuz'?
WASHINGTON, DC: Amid the renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following the United States’ failed negotiation with Iran, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that President Donald Trump made a post online saying that only he could open the Strait of Hormuz. Let us analyze and fact-check the claim.
Claim: Donald Trump posts 'Only I could have opened the Strait of Hormuz'
The claim surfaced in the form of a screenshot showing a post by Trump on his official Truth Social handle. The alleged post states, “Let's be very clear, ONLY I could have opened the Straits of Hormuz, not NATO, not China, Not Japan, Not South Korea.
They should be thanking me. If it were not for ME, today the straits would be in the same condition they were before this war. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
The screenshot has spread on Facebook, X, and Instagram, garnering hundreds of thousands of views as of this writing.
Fact Check: Fake, Donald Trump never made such a post
However, the claim is false, as the president never made such a post. A search on Trump’s Truth Social account for the remark yielded no relevant results that match the text in the screenshot.
The result is the same for the search on the Trump commentary account on X, which automatically archives his posts from Truth Social.
A search on Google also does not yield any results about Trump making such a remark, which, if true, would have been widely covered by credible news outlets.
A closer look at the screenshot reveals a watermark written, “Mrs.Putin Satire,” indicating that the screenshot was fabricated for satire by a popular parody account.
Donald Trump orders a naval blockade of Iran
The screenshot surfaced after Trump had officially ordered the United States Navy to impose a full-scale naval blockade on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, just hours after marathon peace negotiations in Islamabad, Pakistan, ended in a spectacular failure on Sunday, April 12.
The President’s 'sensational' directive effectively terminates the fragile ceasefire and puts the US military on a 'Locked and Loaded' footing to finish what remains of the Iranian regime.
The collapse of the talks was triggered by a definitive deadlock over the 'only point that really mattered', Iran’s refusal to surrender its enriched uranium stockpile and its demand for total control over the Strait of Hormuz.
In an explosive proclamation, Trump characterized Iran’s current maritime tactics as 'WORLD EXTORTION,' vowing that the United States and its allies will never be extorted by a regime whose leadership is already 'dead' and whose military is largely 'gone.'
