The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open: Donald Trump says the US has started to clear out

Is relief coming for global trade? Donald Trump stated on Saturday, April 11th, that the United States had started to “clear” the Strait of Hormuz, at a time when several American media outlets reported that US Navy ships had crossed the same passage controlled by Iran on the same day. “We are now starting the process to clear the Strait of Hormuz as a favor to countries around the world, including China, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, and many others,” the American president wrote on his Truth Social platform. It will be “soon be open,” he added in another message. “Incredibly, they do not have the courage or will to do the job themselves,” he assured.

In his message on Truth Social, Donald Trump also criticized the media, claiming they suggest that Iran is winning the war against the United States, “when in reality everyone knows they they are currently losing, and losing big.”

“The only thing in their favor is the threat that a ship may ‘hit’ one of their naval mines” in the Strait of Hormuz, he acknowledged, while claiming that “all 28 of their mine-laying ships lie at the bottom of the sea” since the American strikes.

Donald Trump’s message comes at the beginning of peace talks between the United States and Iran in Pakistan, where the issue of traffic in the strait is crucial. Shortly after, the American military confirmed that two of its destroyers had crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday to “set the conditions” for demining this strategically important maritime passage controlled by Iran, while in talks with Tehran. The two ships operated as part of “a larger mission aimed at ensuring that the strait is completely cleared of marine mines previously laid by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.” Iranian state media criticized the “excessive demands” from the United States on the Strait of Hormuz during negotiations in Islamabad.

Iran is blocking this strategic waterway for oil and global trade, through which approximately 20% of the world’s oil flows. The strait is almost blocked. Despite the ceasefire, crossing it remains very dangerous, and only a handful of ships have been able to traverse it.