President Donald Trump said Thursday that Iran has allowed a total of 10 oil tankers to pass through the Strait of Hormuz as a “gift” to the United States.
President Trump told the Cabinet that Iran made the gesture to show the United States “that we are real and that we are solid and that we are here.”
The comment answers questions raised two days ago when Trump first said Iran “gave us a gift” in relation to oil and gas, without providing further details.
President Trump made this claim after the United States claimed that “very substantive talks are taking place regarding Iran,” even though the Iranian government denies that any direct talks took place.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the top negotiator with Iran, earlier told a Cabinet meeting that the U.S. has received “multiple communications from countries in the region and beyond who want to play a role in bringing this conflict to a peaceful end.”
Witkoff also confirmed that the United States had presented a 15-point framework for a peace agreement, but noted that it was provided through Pakistan, which acted as a mediator.
Iranian state media reported on Wednesday that Tehran has rejected a US ceasefire offer and submitted its own list of conditions to end the war.
The counter-proposal would give Iran sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil shipping route that has been effectively closed since the war began nearly four weeks ago.
President Trump on Monday suggested the strait could be jointly managed by “me and the Ayatollah.”
Witkoff said that during Thursday’s meeting, Trump instructed them to “keep secret the specific terms and not negotiate through the press.”
“All I can say is this: we’ll see where things go,” he added.
President Trump and Cabinet members, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, boasted that the United States had caused significant damage to Iran’s military capabilities.
“We estimated it would take about four to six weeks to accomplish the mission. We’re well ahead of schedule,” Trump said during the meeting.
But he acknowledged that Iran’s continued ability to blockade the strait, through which about 20 million barrels of oil, a quarter of the world’s offshore oil, pass each day is an unresolved issue.
“The problem with the Straits is this,” the president said. “Let’s say we did a great job. We got 99 percent. One percent is unacceptable, because one percent is like a missile hitting the hull of a billion-dollar ship.”
“But I have a feeling it’s going to end pretty quickly,” he added.
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