‘Strait of Trump’: US President rebrands global oil chokepoint; says ‘no accidents with me’ | WATCH
Florida: President Donald Trump labelled the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz the "Strait of Trump" during a Friday address, later quipping that the nomenclature was not a mistake.
Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit, the president initially used the self-referential title before correcting himself. "They have to open up the Strait of Trump. I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. Such a terrible mistake," Trump told the audience. "The fake news will say 'he accidentally said it'. Now there are no accidents with me. Not too many."
The president used the platform to claim that the Iranian government is under extreme duress and actively seeking a diplomatic resolution to the month-long conflict.
Claims of Progress in Negotiations
Trump asserted that Tehran is "begging to make a deal" and cited recent oil shipments as evidence of Iran’s compliance during ongoing discussions. He suggested that the reopening of the chokepoint—through which a significant portion of the world's oil passes—is a non-negotiable component of any potential treaty.
"They're being hit so hard. Anybody would be negotiating. They are negotiating," Trump said. The president claimed that after initially denying talks, Iran "admitted two days later" they were occurring and offered a gesture of good faith.
"In order to make up for their misstatement, 'We're going to send you eight ships of oil.' And the following day, I saw on one of the networks there were eight ships of oil coming out of Iran," he added. "And then they actually said, 'We're going to add an extra two.' And they added an extra two. We had 10 ships. And then people realised we were actually negotiating."
Deadlines and Deterrence
The president emphasised that the continued closure of the waterway would not be tolerated. He previously warned that the U.S. would resort to "obliterating" Iran's power infrastructure if the strait was not fully reopened within days.
However, citing the progress of current deliberations, Trump announced on Thursday that he has pushed back the ultimatum. The new deadline for Iran to restore unrestricted access to the Strait of Hormuz is now set for April 6.
The 10-day extension comes as the administration continues to promote its 15-point peace plan, which demands the total dismantlement of Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities and the cessation of its regional proxy activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
With inputs from ANI