WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said the US is “clearing out” the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which a large amount of the world’s oil commerce flows.
Trump’s remarks came as US and Iranian delegations are holding Pakistan-mediated talks in Islamabad, aimed at ending the regional conflict amid a two-week ceasefire announced by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the United States is now clearing the Strait of Hormuz and claimed that all 28 of Iran’s mine-laying vessels had been sunk.
“We’re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to Countries all over the world…” Trump wrote on his Truth Social.
Iran’s closure of the Strait has choked the global market for crude oil, driving up gasoline prices in the United States.
He asserted that sea mines were the only threat that remained for vessels going through the strait, adding that all 28 of Iran’s mine-laying vessels were “lying at the bottom of the sea.”
The United States and Iran are holding high-stakes talks in the Pakistani capital, as part of efforts to build on a two-week ceasefire.
The Iranian delegation, headed by parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, arrived first in Islamabad.
Other members include Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Akbar Ahmadian, Central Bank Governor Abdolnaser Hemmati, and former IRGC commander Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr.
A United States delegation led by Vice President JD Vance also arrived on Saturday to participate in the negotiations.
The US delegation, which includes Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff, reached Islamabad under tight security arrangements.
