Iran called on the US to accept defeat while President Donald Trump blasted Iran as "evil" and said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.

"After we finish defeating Iran – which is being very badly defeated – pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," Trump said during a political rally in Garden City, New York.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said in a post on X early Saturday that "this strait will be opened and closed only under Iran's command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade."

"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing ​an order or by delivering an election speech," Gharibabadi said.

Those comments suggested the warring parties remained far apart, with progress toward peace talks and oil tanker traffic ‌through the strategic Strait of Hormuz waterway both halted.

Hormuz traffic flows

Only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, according to analysis from ship-tracking firm Kpler: a grain ship entering Iranian waters and an empty dry bulk ship going the other direction. A separate empty liquefied petroleum products tanker was sailing into the Gulf via the strait, the data showed. There were no crude oil shipments visible.

The United Arab Emirates' Abu Dhabi National ​Oil Company said two of its vessels were attacked transiting the strait on Thursday evening, then the Emirati state news agency WAM reported another vessel came under attack on Friday.

The near-closure of the strait helped raise crude oil futures another $1 ​a barrel on Friday. The average US price of a gallon of gasoline was about $4.08 on Friday, according to the American Automobile Association. That's up 29% from $3.16 a ​year earlier.

Trump on Friday urged Americans to accept slightly higher gasoline prices during the rally in Garden City, saying paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline" is worth the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon.

No sign of resumption of peace talks

With a tentative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June to end the war in tatters, there was no sign that the US or Iran planned to resume peace talks.

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said no decision has yet been made to restart negotiations with the United States, ​the Iranian Student News Agency reported on Saturday. ​Mediators Qatar and Pakistan were in contact with Iran and exchanging messages, but this did not amount to negotiations, the agency said.

Gharibabadi said ​Tehran would not be intimidated by threats or a show of force.

Trump and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent each pledged to inflict more financial damage on Iran. Bessent told Newsmax's "Rob Schmitt Tonight" program on Thursday that "Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we ​are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country."

During a meeting with US Charge d'Affaires Natalie A. Baker in Islamabad, Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar told her that full implementation of the MoU is the "only way forward" for addressing regional issues through dialogue and diplomacy.

Military tensions remain high

Military tensions have also continued to simmer. Trump said on Friday that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Middle East for nearly nine months, will be replaced.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Friday they shot down an MQ-9 drone over the southern province of Hormozgan using a new air defense system.

The US military has lost at least 45 MQ-9 Reaper drones during the war with Iran, or roughly 25% of its fleet, the Washington Post reported, citing three US officials familiar with the matter.

Besides, the US Central Command recently announced efforts to establish the first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force.

It added the unit, called Task Force Falcon Strike, will employ one-way attack drones consisting of unmanned systems from above, on, and below the sea operated by military support staff from the US and regional partners in the Middle East.

Chinese military commentator Wei Dongxu said the new task force was intended to increase pressure on Iran by integrating the drone capabilities of US allies.

However, deploying offensive drones on allied territory to strike targets deep inside Iran is bound to invite Iranian retaliation with ballistic missiles and drones, potentially leaving the countries concerned facing greater security risks and even dragging them into new conflicts and crises, Wei said.

(With input from agencies)