Iran allowed a total of 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz this week as a “present” to the United States, President Donald Trump said Thursday.
Iran made the gesture to show the U.S. “the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting.
The comments provide an answer to questions raised two days earlier, when Trump first said that Iran “gave us a present” related to oil and gas, without elaborating.
Trump made the claim after insisting that the U.S has “very substantial talks going on with respect to Iran,” even though Tehran has denied direct talks have taken place.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, a top negotiator with Iran, said in the Cabinet meeting that the U.S. has had “multiple reach outs from the region and others who want to play a role in ending this conflict peacefully.”
Witkoff also confirmed that the U.S. has presented a 15-point framework for a peace deal, but noted that it has been delivered via Pakistan, which has acted as mediator.
Iranian state media on Wednesday reported that Tehran rejected a U.S. ceasefire offer and submitted its own list of conditions for ending the war.
That counteroffer would give Tehran sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping route that has been effectively closed since the war began nearly four weeks ago.
Trump on Monday floated the possibility that the strait could be controlled jointly by “me and the ayatollah.”
Witkoff said in Thursday’s meeting Trump has directed him to “maintain confidentiality on the specific terms and not negotiate through the news media.”
“I can say this, we will see where things lead,” he added.
Trump and Cabinet officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, boasted that the U.S. has severely damaged Iran’s military capabilities.
“We estimated it would take approximately four to six weeks to achieve our mission. And we’re way ahead of schedule,” Trump said in the meeting.
But he acknowledged that Iran’s continued ability to block the strait — through which about 20 million oil barrels, or one-fourth of the world’s seaborne crude, passes daily — remains an unresolved challenge.
“The problem with the straits is this,” the president said. “Let’s say we do a great job. We got 99%. 1% is unacceptable, because 1% is a missile going into the hull of a ship that cost a billion dollars.”
“But I have a feeling it’s going to clean up pretty quickly,” he added.
This is breaking news. Please refresh for updates.
