US President Donald Trump has privately informed his advisors that he is willing to end the ongoing US-Iran war even if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday, citing administration officials.
In recent days, Trump and his aides concluded that any effort to reopen the chokepoint would extend the conflict beyond his planned four to six weeks.
The effective closure of that key waterway has caused oil prices to soar to a near four-year high, with a barrel of Brent crude costing $113 today, 56% more expensive than before the US-Israeli war on Iran began.
Trump reportedly wants the U.S. to focus on its main aims, which are weakening Iran’s navy and its missile stockpiles, and then scale down the fighting, while using diplomatic pressure to push Tehran to restore normal trade flows. If that does not work, officials said Washington would ask its allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead in reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Yesterday, Trump threatened to “obliterate” Iranian energy sites, including Kharg Island, its main oil terminal in the Persian Gulf, if Tehran does not agree a peace deal “shortly”;
In the same Truth Social post, the US president also claimed talks to end the war with a “NEW, AND MORE REASONABLE, REGIME” were making “great progress”. The post followed the pattern of Trump’s contradictory comments about the status of the war;
A U.S. withdrawal from the conflict could help reduce tensions and improve the chances of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key route whose disruption has pushed oil prices higher.
Bloomberg also reported that almost all vessels now crossing the strait are using routes approved by Iran — sailing close to its coastline rather than along the Omani side, and often only after holding talks to secure safe passage.
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