WASHINGTON DC – United States President Donald Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz will reopen “fairly soon” with or without Iran’s assistance, as Tehran’s effective blockade of the waterway continues to roil global energy supplies.
Speaking to reporters on Friday in advance of peace talks between US and Iranian officials in Pakistan, Trump said the US would “open up the Gulf” and that other countries were ready to “help out”.
“It won’t be easy”, Trump said. “I would say this: We will have that open fairly soon”, he added. Trump, who did not elaborate on how Washington would unblock the critical maritime chokepoint, also said he would not accept Iran’s imposition of a de facto toll booth system in the strait. Tehran has indicated that it intends to charge vessels fees for safe passage even in the event that a deal is reached with the US to end the war.
“If they are doing that, we’re not going to let that happen”, Trump told reporters before boarding Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Camp Springs, Maryland. Trump said ensuring Iran does not possess nuclear weapons is the priority in any agreement, and the strait would open “automatically”. “No nuclear weapons, that’s 99 percent of it”, Trump said. “The strait will open up”, he added. “If we just left … otherwise they make no money”. Despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran on Tuesday, shipping in the strait remains at an effective standstill, disrupting approximately one-fifth of global oil and natural gas flows.
Only two vessels passed through the strait on Friday, down from five the previous day, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence. Since the start of the ceasefire, just 22 ships with their automatic identification system turned on have exited the strait, according to the market intelligence provider, compared with about 135 daily transits before the war.
More than 600 vessels, including 325 tankers, are still stranded in the Gulf due to the blockage of the strait, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence. US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf are on Saturday set to lead negotiations in Islamabad aimed at securing a permanent end to the war. The US and Iran have offered conflicting messages on the agreed-upon terms for the negotiations, including the contents of a 10-point plan put forward by Tehran. (Aljazeera)
