Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, made it clear on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz is Tehran's domain, not Washington's. His comments came right after a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) security summit in Bahrain, where senior military officials from a dozen countries gathered to discuss keeping the waterway open.

On Wednesday, CENTCOM led a summit hosted by Bahrain, with attendees from Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. The talks focused on the “flow of commerce” through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow passage that handles about a fifth of the world's oil supply.

Gharibabadi wasn't impressed. He posted a screenshot of the CENTCOM press release and wrote, “The Strait of Hormuz is defined by Iranian command, not by CENTCOM.” He argued that the Bahrain summit can't create a legal order or security in the Persian Gulf, and called for an end to U.S. intervention. “Security in the region will be ensured by ending intervention and the withdrawal of the U.S. from the region, respect for the sovereignty of countries, and acceptance of new geopolitical realities,” he said, adding that a “military umbrella” won't cut it.

The timing is interesting. A Bloomberg report on Wednesday, citing an unnamed U.S. official, said ships are still passing through the strait with help from the U.S. military, and oil shipments have surged to over 10 million barrels per day. That's a lot of crude moving through a tense neighborhood. Over the weekend, a tanker was hit in the strait, and Bahrain claimed its territory was targeted by Iranian drones, calling it a violation of sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Iran has rejected direct talks with the U.S. Instead, President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff will communicate with Iran through Qatari mediators. So the backchannel is alive, but the public rhetoric is heating up.

Back in Washington, Trump is facing a different kind of heat. Democrats are piling on over the $400 million Boeing Co. (BA) 747 jet that Qatar gifted to replace Air Force One. It's a political headache that adds another layer to an already complex geopolitical picture.

Disclaimer: Gharibabadi's comments were originally made in Farsi and have been translated into English.