As President Donald Trump continues to claim, without evidence, that the U.S. controls the flow of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, even his favorite cable news network isn’t buying it anymore.

“The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, ‘A WALL OF STEEL,’ and there is nothing Iran can do about it,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.

Fox News’ Bret Baier dismantled Trump’s rhetoric about controlling the critical waterway, where 20% of the world’s oil supply traveled before the U.S. and Israel launched their war on Iran.

“Despite President Trump claiming total control over the strait, traffic has slowed, really to a trickle,” Baier said on Wednesday. “If you look at this, before the conflict, more than 100 vessels a day were crossing. Monday, eight vessels crossed. Yesterday, 14.”

Baier then detailed how the Trump administration had recently raised its 2026 energy outlook for both the price of Brent crude oil (from $82/barrel to $87/barrel) and retail gas (from $3.64/gallon to $3.78/gallon).

The average price for a gallon of gas remains above $4, per AAA. According to GasBuddy petroleum analyst Patrick De Haan, that marks the first time gas prices have ever been above the $4 mark this late in the year. In addition, Brent crude oil currently hovers around $80/barrel.

People spend time at a beach as commercial vessels are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, on Aug. 5, 2026.

Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP

Iran’s demands include the U.S. removing its naval blockade of Iranian ports, permanently ending the war and withdrawing its military from the area. The U.S. also must pay Iran war reparations, lift sanctions and “unconditionally” release frozen assets.

Watch a clip of Baier’s segment from Wednesday’s show here: