- Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open to all and uncontrolled, in a warning to Iran
- Iran seeks to charge tolls on ships passing through the Strait and share revenue with Oman
- Trump emphasised preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons as a global priority
The Strait of Hormuz continues to be a point of contention as US President Donald Trump issued a stern warning on access to it on Wednesday, adding that it will be "open to everyone" and "no one" will control it.
"The strait will be open to everyone. These are international waters. No one will control it. This is part of the negotiations we are conducting. Oman will act like everyone else, otherwise we will have to blow them up. They understand that," Trump said, when asked if he will be open to a short-term deal concerning the vital marine chokepoint. Oman, a US ally, has tried to mediate the Middle East war and has itself come under Iranian attacks.
Round after round of talks have ended without conclusion, leading a frustrated Trump to say the Iranian side is "negotiating on fumes" and demanding a "perfect" deal. Iran has attempted to assert its authority on the Strait of Hormuz, stating that it will charge a tolls on transiting ships and share the revenue with Oman.
While Trump touched upon various factors that put Iran in a weaker position, including several regime changes and an economy in a freefall, Tehran's nuclear stockpile remained a key factor. "Iran can't have a nuclear weapon. We are doing it for the world and we have a lot of support for it, not that we need it. With Operation Epic fury, we will ensure that the world's no 1 state sponsor of terror never obtains a nuclear weapon," he said.
Tehran's agreement to give up its uranium stockpile remains a key demand, officials told Reuters, adding that Trump wouldn't be comfortable with Russia or China taking the stockpile.
He accused Iran of attempting to stall an agreement and "outwait" him till the US midterm elections in November. "They thought they were gonna outwait me. You know, 'We'll outwait him. He's got the midterms,'" Trump said. "I don't care about the midterms."
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the Iranian parliament's national security committee, said Trump's "rhetoric" would not force Iran to back away from its demands to enrich uranium, wield authority over the strait and see sanctions against it lifted. "It is obvious Trump, seeking a way out of this strategic deadlock, alternates between issuing threats and appealing for an agreement," Azizi said in a post on X.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards official Mohammad Akbarzadeh echoed Azizi, saying the likelihood of "war is low because of the enemy's weakness", but warned the military was "lying in wait with full magazines" if attacked, Tasnim news agency reported.
Trump's statement came hours after the US conducted overnight strikes on a military control station in south Iran's port city of Bandar Abbas, from where four Iranian drones were shot down. On Monday, the US military also launched strikes on missile launch sites and mine-laying boats in southern Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz has been all but shut since the Middle East war broke out on February 28, triggering a global energy crisis. It is governed by international law that guarantees foreign vessels the right to pass through. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy said on Wednesday that 23 ships including oil tankers, container ships and other commercial vessels passed through Hormuz with its permission in the previous 24 hours, a fraction of the daily 125 to 140 vessels before the conflict.
Another key issue unresolved is whether the ceasefire will also cover Israel's operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed group in Lebanon. Iran has insisted that Lebanon must be covered by any ceasefire agreement negotiated with the United States.
Trump has also asked Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan to join the Abraham Accords, normalising relations with Israel as part of a deal to end the war, which they have declined to do.
