Trump says he’s currently in talks with 7 countries on securing Strait of Hormuz

ISTANBUL

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that he is currently in talks with seven countries on securing the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One about Operation Epic Fury, Trump said the US was talking to other countries about working on the policing of the strait last night, stressing that China, with up to 90% of its maritime crude oil shipments transported through the waterway, was invited to cooperate.

“They get most of their oil, they get a lot, about 90% from the strait. So I said ‘Would you like to come in?’ And we'll find out. Maybe they will, maybe they won't,” he said.

Speaking about Iran’s recently appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, he claimed that a video on social media showing 250,000 people cheering for him in a square was “AI-generated” and “never took place.”

“Totally AI-generated. It never took place. The media knew it didn't take place, but they built it up like they have great support. They don't have support,” he said.

Trump also said that oil prices will come down as soon as the war is over, stressing that it's going to end “pretty quickly.”

Separately, he said the US could soon reach a deal with Cuba or take other action.

“Cuba is a failed nation,” he said. “Cuba also wants to make a deal, and I think we will pretty soon either make a deal or do whatever we have to do.”

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint between Iran to the north and Oman’s Musandam Peninsula to the south, is one of the world’s most important shipping lanes for oil and gas.

Iran has effectively closed the strait since early March following the launch of joint attacks by Israel and the US against the country on Feb. 28 which have so far killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Disruptions to shipping through the strait have pushed up global oil and fertilizer prices, raising concerns about energy supplies and food costs.

Trump said Saturday that countries receiving oil through the strategic waterway should take responsibility for securing the key maritime passage and that the US would assist. Earlier, he said US Navy escorts for oil tankers transiting the strait could begin “soon.”