Washington: US President Donald Trump Monday said ships, many loaded with oil, “are starting to move” through the Strait of Hormuz, a day after the US and Iran digitally signed an agreement to end the 107-day war.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the ships were going along the southern “Highway” in the Hormuz Strait, an apparent reference to the route off the coast of Oman.
“Ships are starting to move, many loaded up with Oil, out of the Strait of Hormuz. They are going along the Southern “Highway,” which is totally safe, secure, and pristine. There are other areas of travel, also,” the US President said.
In an interview with The New York Times, Trump said that the agreement he had reached with Iran would ultimately assure that the Strait of Hormuz was “permanently toll-free”.
Trump said that if Iran failed to reach a final nuclear accord with the United States – a process that his aides expect will begin Friday in Switzerland – he would restart military attacks on Tehran or make the United States “the guardian of the Middle East” in return for 20 per cent of the region’s revenues.
On Sunday, Trump said the US blockade of ships travelling to and from Iranian ports will be lifted Friday, after the in-person signing of the US-Iran peace deal in Switzerland.
In media interviews to local television networks, Vance said the US-Iran deal was signed digitally on Sunday, and the full text of the agreement was likely to be made public later this week.
“We already signed the deal digitally yesterday (Sunday),” Vance said on the “Good Morning America” programme on ABC News.
A formal signing ceremony will take place Friday in Switzerland, though Vance did not specify who would comprise the American delegation.
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