President Trump says he wants to see oil traffic move freely through the Persian Gulf region “with or without” cooperation from Iran as talks get underway to end the war.
Mr. Trump also said Friday he would not let Iran impose tolls on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for oil tankers, as delegations arrived in Pakistan for high-stakes negotiations.
“If they’re doing that, we’re not going to let that happen,” Mr. Trump said as he departed the Beltway region for a political event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Vice President J.D. Vance headed to Islamabad on Friday to lead the U.S. delegation in talks that could end the six-week war. Mr. Trump and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire earlier in the week to allow space for deeper talks.
“I wish him well,” Mr. Trump said of Mr. Vance.
Mr. Trump said preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is “99%” of the negotiation.
The U.S. and Israel launched joint strikes on Feb. 28 to dismantle Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and constrain its ability to fund terrorism in the region.
Early strikes killed Iran’s supreme leader and other top officials, though Iran’s reprisals against Gulf nations and clampdown on the Strait of Hormuz led to higher oil prices and pain at the pump at U.S. gas stations.
Mr. Trump exuded confidence that the Strait of Hormuz would open, one way or another.
“They’re militarily defeated, and now we’re going to open up the Gulf, with or without them,” Mr. Trump said. “I think it’s going to go pretty quickly. And if it doesn’t, we’ll be able to finish it off. One way or another, it’s going well.”
