Trump insists Strait of Hormuz to reopen ‘pretty quickly,’ vows to do so ‘with or without’ Iran

US President Donald Trump expresses his confidence that the Strait of Hormuz will soon be reopened to uninhibited shipping flows.

“We’re going to open up the (strait) with or without him, but that’ll be open,” Trump tells reporters.

“I think it’s going to [be opened] pretty quickly, and if it doesn’t, we’ll be able to finish it off one way or the other,” Trump says.

The US has claimed that the strait was opened up already on Wednesday, denying reports that Iran was holding up much of the traffic and charging a toll. Over the past 24 hours, Trump appeared to acknowledge that Iran was in fact blocking ships from using the channel, with the president issuing a series of Truth Social posts threatening Iran.

Tehran has pledged to continue blocking traffic untils Israel stop striking its Lebanese proxy Hezbollah, which Iran and Pakistani mediators say was supposed to be part of the ceasefire. The US has said there was a “legitimate misunderstanding” on that issue, while insisting that it never agreed to include Lebanon in the truce.

Asked if he’ll allow Iran to charge tolls for ships in Hormuz, Trump says he won’t. “It’s international water.”

He then clarifies that he hasn’t verified Iran is actually charging tolls.

Asked what he is looking for in a deal with Iran ahead of Saturday’s talks, Trump responds, “No nuclear weapon.”

As for a backup plan if Iran refuses to reopen Hormuz, Trump insists that he doesn’t need one and claims Iran has already been “militarily defeated.”