Washington [US], April 1: US President Donald Trump has suggested the countries "that are using" the Strait of Hormuz should reopen it after Iran's blockade, while claiming in a New York Post interview it will reopen "automatically" once US combat operations end.
The Strait of Hormuz is an important route for tankers carrying crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the resource-rich region.
Iran has largely brought shipping traffic there to a standstill with attacks and threats and has so far allowed only a few tankers through. This has been driving up energy prices worldwide for weeks and is also disrupting supplies of fertilizer.
More expensive petrol is also fuelling dissatisfaction in the US with Trump's approach.
Asked about a Wall Street Journal report saying he could end the US military operation even without the Strait of Hormuz being reopened, Trump said in the New York Post interview published on Tuesday he was not thinking about that.
"My sole function was to make sure that they don't have a nuclear weapon. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon. When we leave the strait will automatically open," he continued.
Trump also said in the interview that Iran no longer had any military power. "They have no strength left, and let the countries that are using the strait, let them go and open it," he went on to say.
Earlier, he had advised countries such as Britain to either buy oil from the US or fetch it themselves from the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite the US military strikes, Iran still appears capable of blocking oil transports. Only overnight, a huge Kuwaiti oil tanker in the port of Dubai caught fire after an Iranian attack.
Source: Qatar Tribune