Maher jabs Trump over Iran, Hormuz Strait back-and-forth: 'We have a whole new plot'

Ryan Mancini

The Hill

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18.04.2026

Maher jabs Trump over Iran, Hormuz Strait back-and-forth: ‘We have a whole new plot’

Comedian Bill Maher on Friday jabbed President Trump over the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran and the reopening and closing of the Strait of Hormuz, musing that “we have a whole new plot.”

“I mean a couple weeks ago, because Iran would not open the Strait of Hormuz –– you’ve been following this –– Trump just threatened to destroy civilization. At least their civilization,” Maher said in his opening monologue, referring to Trump’s threat last week that Iran’s “whole civilization will die.”

“Well, now we’ve pivoted,” the “Real Time” host continued. “OK, good. We have a whole new plot into this. Trump said Iran can’t blockade the Strait of Hormuz. You know why? Because we’re doing it. You cannot destroy the world economy. That’s our job.”

He added that if Trump saying “traffic is moving in the Persian Gulf” works, “we’re going to try it on the” Interstate 405 freeway in Southern California, which is notable for its heavy traffic.

Maher also quipped about Iran calling “their blockade off, but our blockade is still on, which means –– oh, f— it, why write a joke about this? It’ll be obsolete before I get to the punchline.”

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Saturday announced that the strait would return to its “previous state” of being closed off to oil tankers and shipping vessels, and will be “under the strict management and control” of their military forces. It called on the U.S. to end “its obstruction of the full freedom of movement of vessels from and to Iran,” referring to the blockade installed on Monday.

Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz earlier on Friday after Israel and Lebanon agreed to a 10-day ceasefire. Iran shut down the strait last week, citing that Israel’s strikes on Lebanon violated one of its conditions to a ceasefire deal with the U.S.

The Trump administration contested this, though Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate between the U.S. and Iran, said it was one of the Islamic Regime’s conditions for a pause in fighting.

Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament, wrote on X later in the day that the strait “will not remain open” due to the blockade.

But Trump praised the strait’s reopening, while noting the U.S. blockade would remain in “full force.“

Qalibaf also criticized other statements Trump made, including the claim that the U.S. won the conflict.

“The President of the United States made seven claims in one hour, all seven of which were false,” Qalibaf wrote. “They did not win the war with these lies, and they will certainly not get anywhere in negotiations either.”

Maher also critiqued Trump claim that the U.S. won, saying the president wrote on social media that it “‘has been my honor to solve nine wars, and this will be my tenth.'”

“And 10 is very exciting, which means the next one is free,” Maher added.

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