Confirming The Times of Israel’s reporting, US President Donald Trump says the present that Iran gave that convinced him Tehran is serious about potentially reaching a deal was allowing the safe passage of a number of oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
“They said, ‘To show you the fact that we’re real and solid, we’re going to let you have eight big boats of oil,'” Trump recalls during a cabinet meeting.
“And then I watched the news… and they said there are eight boats that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz Strait,” he continues, claiming the tankers were Pakistani-flagged.
While several tankers did indeed manage to cross through the channel earlier this week, there has been no public reporting about eight tankers specifically and none of the successfully floating tankers that have been reported since Sunday were Pakistani-flagged.
Trump goes on to reiterate that Iran wants to make a deal because “they have been just beat to shit.”
Asked if he wants to control Iranian oil, Trump says “it’s an option, but I wouldn’t talk about it.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, March 26, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
