2026 Iran War: 2026-08-13

Al Jazeera reports President Donald Trump again said on Truth Social that the United States has total control of the Strait of Hormuz and may keep it, calling the US naval blockade of Iranian ports a wall of steel. Shipping data cited by Al Jazeera and Reuters show only eight vessels crossed the strait on Tuesday, below a recent ten-day average of about 12 and far under the pre-war rate of roughly 130 to 140 ships a day, according to Kpler. Tehran continues to say the waterway stays closed until Washington ends the war and blockade, unfreezes Iranian assets, and accepts a wider regional ceasefire. No new US-Iran deal to fully reopen the strait has been announced.

Navy Times and Stars and Stripes report that multiple sailors on the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln tried to jump overboard during its extended Iran-war deployment, with one sailor on medical hold after an attempt and another stopped by shipmates. The ship has logged about 250 consecutive days at sea and more than eight months deployed after its May return date was extended; roughly 5,000 crew remain at sea with no public return date. About 200 family members raised mental-health and living-condition concerns with Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao at a San Diego town hall last week. The Guardian also covered the reports. The Navy has said mental-health staff are available and that more specialists are being sent to the ship.