Is Donald Trump trying to pretend he didn’t start the war in Iran?
Donald Trump and his administration are making bold claims about the safety of the Strait of Hormuz, and seemingly forgetting it was America who helped start the war. Is anyone buying it?
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In brief:
- Donald Trump has threatened to “blow Iran off the face of the earth” if it doesn’t permit ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and his defence secretary Pete Hegseth has said it is now safe to pass through the channel, due to the American military.
- The News Agents say Trump is almost pretending it was someone else who started the war, with America now seemingly acting like an impartial country stepping in to end the conflict.
- And once again, this all comes down to soaring oil prices in America, alongside plunging approval ratings with voters, and the president’s desperation to be liked.
What’s the story?
Donald Trump does remember it was him who started the war in Iran, right?
New comments from Trump, and his administration, seem to be positioning America as a potential saviour to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, which remains closed, restricting global oil supply and keeping prices sky high all over the world.
America began the Iran War alongside Israel when the two countries began military strikes on 28 February 2026.
This week, Pete Hegseth, the US secretary of defence, said the Strait was now safe to pass through, with the US having established a “powerful red, white and blue dome” over the sea channel.
But with the US and Iran exchanging fire in the Strait once again, seemingly spelling the end of a ceasefire, it is anything but safe.
“Hegseth is declaring it a humanitarian mission,” says Jon Sopel.
“It was only yesterday that it seemed that the ceasefire was disintegrating and collapsing in on itself, and that the Iranians were firing once again at Gulf nations.
“Hegseth is trying to reassure everybody that if you want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, you are now free to do so.”
Iran, however, is warning countries to not even think about trying to sail through it.
Is Trump playing the 'white knight' to get his Nobel Prize aspirations back on track?
In an interview with Fox News the president once again threatened extreme military action, this time wording it as Iran being "blown off the face of the earth" if commercial ships continue being fired on by Iranian ships.
But at the same time as this new threat, he is also trying to position himself as the man to bring peace to Iran and the Middle East, despite being partly responsible for the conflict.
“He's decided to create what he thinks of as a humanitarian corridor, as if he's actually offering salvation to ships that have been marooned there because of Iran,” says Emily Maitlis.
Trump has announced ‘Project Freedom’ (in fact a re-title of the International Maritime Freedom Construct which was set up in 2019), to guide commercial ships through the strait.
“He's essentially created this idea as if America were some neutral country stepping into this terrible humanitarian crisis, to be the security guarantor to lead all these ships to safety," Emily adds.
"Iran is saying America can't just come in and play the white knight."
America is also losing allies in the Gulf with every strike Iran makes on neighbouring states, with the blame ultimately landing at Trump’s feet, due to him starting the conflict.
When Trump won the US election in November 2024 he said he was going to stop wars, not start them.
This, it turned out, was a lie.
Why is Trump trying to switch from invader to saviour?
Not only does Donald Trump want to be remembered as a peacemaker, already falsely claiming to have ended numerous wars during his second term in office, the war he started has had a huge impact globally.
Oil prices are soaring, and there has been a knock-on effect on house prices, interest rates, food prices and economies the world over.
Oil companies, however, are enjoying record profits due to Trump's war in Iran.
"Trump realises he is now in a corner now over the Strait of Hormuz, which was open and functioning normally before America and Israel launched their attack," Jon says.
"Fuel prices are going up. His approval ratings are going down."
Trump would like American citizens to believe they are living through an era of "American greatness", Jon adds, but the reality in their pockets and at the fuel pumps says otherwise.
"The Iran war was meant to be a quick, one and done to change the regime, just like Venezuela – and it has absolutely gone to shit," Jon says.
"I'm sure there are huge sections of American public opinion that still buy into everything that Donald Trump is saying but if you look at the approval ratings, an ever growing number are thinking, hang on, this is all bullshit."