Trump says reopening Hormuz must be in Iran ceasefire deal

Summary

• Trump says Iran talks are "going well" before the April 7 deadline, but freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is a priority.
• Trump threatens "complete demolition" of Iranian infrastructure if terms aren't met, despite Iran rejecting ceasefire, demanding war's end.
• Iran wants a permanent war end, reconstruction, sanctions lifted, and Hormuz safe passage protocols before reopening the strait.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said talks with Iran are “going well” ahead of an April 7 night-time deadline to agree to a deal, even as he insisted that freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz must be part of any agreement. 

Mr Trump said on April 6 that reopening the strait was “a very big priority”, despite also saying in recent weeks that it wasn’t among the core objectives for ending the conflict.

Asked if Iran must open the strait to successfully meet his terms, Mr Trump responded that the deal “is going to be we want free travel and everything”.

Mr Trump said if Iran does not agree to his terms, the military could destroy “every bridge in Iran by 12 o’clock tomorrow night” and put every power plant “out of business.” 

“I mean complete demolition by 12 o’clock, and it will happen over a period of four hours, if we wanted to,” he said. “We don’t want that to happen.” 

Mr Trump’s comments appeared to be at odds with past remarks from his administration about whether he would be willing to end the war with the strait still closed.

Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt did not list reopening Hormuz as a core US military objective when asked if Mr Trump would declare victory even if passage through the strait remained slow.

At the press conference, Mr Trump mixed threats with an upbeat assessment of the conversations even though Tehran had earlier rejected a ceasefire proposal and instead demanded a permanent end to the war.

Mr Trump said Vice-President J.D. Vance is involved in the conversations and also mentioned special envoy Steve Witkoff, who had sought an agreement with Tehran before the US and Israel began the war in late February.

“I can tell you that we have a active, willing participant on the other side,” Mr Trump said.

“They would like to be able to make a deal. I can’t say any more than that.

“They’re negotiating, we think in good faith – we’re going to find out,” Mr Trump said.

Earlier on April 6, Iran had rejected the terms of a ceasefire deal relayed via Pakistan, which has been mediating efforts to end the conflict. Leaders in Iran have instead called for a permanent end to the war, reconstruction efforts and the lifting of sanctions, in addition to protocols for ensuring safe passage through Hormuz, according to Iranian state-run IRNA. 

Iran has said it would only allow strait operations to resume when it is compensated for damage from the war. Tehran has continued striking energy targets in Gulf neighbours, including Kuwait’s oil headquarters. The conflict has already left thousands of people dead. BLOOMBERG