Trump says the Strait of Hormuz is open and Iran does not want to be targeted by a U.S. attack again

A few hours after the commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East announced that the country would help the exit of about 750 million barrels of oil from the Strait of Hormuz over recent months, Donald Trump once again said that this vital waterway is open and that Iran is avoiding conflict with the United States.

On Friday, the U.S. president, in a brief phone call with the Axios news website, said: “That [damn] strait is open. Iran’s response has been mild. They don’t want us to go after them again. That’s the whole story. Everything else doesn’t matter.”

The outlet also wrote, citing U.S. officials, that over the past two months the army of this country has gradually reduced Iran’s ability to apply pressure through this vital waterway. This comes while the Islamic Republic immediately after the start of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on 9 Esfand last year, blocked the Strait of Hormuz by attacking vessels.

Early Friday morning, the commander of the U.S. Central Command headquarters, CENTCOM, announced that American forces cleared mines placed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from international shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz and, in recent months, helped nearly 1,500 commercial ships carrying about 750 million barrels of crude oil to pass through the waterway.

Admiral Brad Cooper said in a video message posted on the X social network that “the U.S. military has reached a major turning point in the Strait of Hormuz.”

U.S. officials told Axios that the course of developments in the Strait of Hormuz has changed in Washington’s favor, and they also believe this shift could be a turning point in the war; a point that not only could gradually reduce pressure on the global economy, but also could pave the way for reaching a better agreement with Iran.

In Trump’s most recent position regarding talks with Iran, he said that Tehran is “begging” to reach an agreement, but that he has no desire to hold talks.

This while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, by rejecting the stance of the government of Donald Trump and the U.S. Army, has repeatedly emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz is still blocked. On the other hand, officials of the Islamic Republic’s government have acknowledged the impact of the U.S. naval blockade on the sale of Iran’s oil and on preventing the import of gasoline.