President Trump has said he is considering ‘winding down’ the war with Iran and leaving other countries to ‘police’ the Strait of Hormuz, the key sea lane through which around a fifth of the world’s oil and gas is transported.
Trump said the US was “getting very close to meeting our objectives”. He repeated an earlier claim that the US doesn’t use the strait of Hormuz, and said therefore other nations who do will have to “guard and police” it.
Writing in a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said that would be “an easy military operation” for other countries. He wrote: We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Terrorist Regime of Iran… The Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not! If asked, we will help these Countries in their Hormuz efforts, but it shouldn’t be necessary once Iran’s threat is eradicated. Importantly, it will be an easy Military Operation for them.”
Several countries have joined European nations, Japan and Canada in signing a joint statement saying they are ready to help ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
A statement from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, Canada and other nations said: "We condemn in the strongest terms recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces…. We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait."
It comes as turmoil continues in the financial markets due to soaring oil and gas prices, following attacks on shipping and energy infrastructure by Iran and a strike by Israel on Iran’s natural gas fields. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it would not carry out further such attacks on Iran’s energy sites.
Jane Hill presents BBC News at Ten reporting by Lyse Doucet, Nick Eardley and Dharshini David.
Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news
#BBCNews
