MIAMI: US President Donald Trump on Friday insisted Iran must open up the Strait of Hormuz to oil traffic to make a peace deal.
Repeating his claims that Tehran is ready to make a deal despite its denials, the US leader said that talks were underway to negotiate an end to the month-long conflict.
Trump added that Iran was “on the run” and reiterated assertions that Tehran’s leadership, navy, air force and nuclear program had all suffered significant damage.
“We’re negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up,” Trump told the Saudi Arabia-backed FII Priority investment forum in Miami.
The US president also praised Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as other Gulf leaders from the UAE, Qatar, and Bahrain, for their efforts in achieving regional stability.
Calling Prince Mohammed a “great man” and a “close friend,” Trump said Saudi Arabia should be proud of the crown prince.
Trump said the US does not “have to be there for NATO,” comments that again raised questions about the US president’s commitment to the mutual defense provisions at the center of the transatlantic alliance.
He said he was upset that European NATO countries had declined to provide material support to the US as it nears the fourth week of its ongoing war on Iran.
“We would have always been there for them, but now, based on their actions, I guess we don’t have to be, do we?” Trump told the audience.
“That sounds like a breaking story? Yes, sir. Is that breaking news? I think we just have breaking news, but that’s the fact. I’ve been saying that. Why would we be there for them if they’re not there for us? They weren’t there for us.”
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump had said it was “an option” to take control of Iran’s oil as the United States has effectively done with Venezuela — despite the fact that that the war is still raging.
The Strait of Hormuz was open to international shipping before the conflict, but the narrow waterway has since ground to a standstill, leading to a surge in global energy prices.
Earlier Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio voiced alarm that Iran would seek to establish a permanent “tolling system” for vessels in the strait, through which one fifth of global oil normally transits.
