March 30 (UPI) — Iran has agreed to allow 20 more oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump said late Sunday, as he claimed negotiations with Iran over ending the war were going “extremely well.”
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the tankers will be allowed through the key Persian Gulf oil transit route starting Monday, describing the gesture by Iran as “a tribute” or “a sign of respect.”
Iran has not confirmed the announcement. Trump late last week said Iran had permitted about 10 tankers through the Strait of Hormuz.
The press conference was held after Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar of Pakistan announced that Iran agreed to allow 20 Pakistani-flagged vessels through the Hormuz at a rate of two per day.
Pakistan is seeking to mediate the U.S.-Iran talks.
“This is a welcome and constructive gesture by Iran and deserves appreciation,” Dar said in a statement. “It is a harbinger of peace and will help usher stability in the region.”
About 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz, and Iran has all but closed it since the United States and Israel attacked Tehran on Feb. 28.
The closure has sent prices higher at U.S. gas pumps. Brent futures early Monday hit $116 a barrel, up from about $72 a day before the war began.
More than a week ago, Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open Hormuz or risk further attacks on its energy infrastructure. He has since extended the deadline until April 6, citing progress in talks with Iran.
“We’re doing extremely well in that negotiation,” he said, while adding that “you can never know with Iran because we negotiate with them and then we always have to blow them up.”
“We’ll make a deal with them. Pretty sure,” he said. “But it’s possible we won’t.”
Immediately after the Feb. 28 U.S. strikes on Iran, Trump called for regime change, a goal that U.S. military and White House officials quickly walked back.
On Sunday, Trump claimed regime change had been achieved saying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, was killed early in the war and that they were now conducting negotiations with other officials.
“We’ve had regime change. If you look already because the one regime was decimated, destroyed, they’re all dead. The next regime is mostly dead and the third regime, we’re dealing with different people than anybody’s dealt with before,” he said. “It’s a whole different group of people. And, frankly, they’ve been very reasonable.”
