U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS News on Monday that the U.S. “could do a lot” about the Strait of Hormuz as shipping nears a standstill in the crucial waterway, which carries about 20 percent of the world's oil.
The US leader has said the strait — located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula — is currently open, but told CBS White House correspondent Weijia Jiang in a phone interview that his administration is “thinking about taking it over.”
He also threatened Iran if it interfered with the vital sea route.
“They've fired everything they've got to fire and they'd better not try anything nice or it's going to be the end of that country,” the US president said.
“If they do something bad, it will be the end of Iran and you will never hear that name again,” threatened Donald Trump.
Oil prices have risen sharply since the start of the war with Iran and are currently hovering around $100 a barrel.
Iran has not closed the strait, but has threatened to fire on any American or Israeli oil tanker that tries to pass through, notes The Guardian.
Trump's remarks to CBS News come as the Kremlin announced earlier that the US president had called Vladimir Putin to discuss the war with Iran and the conflict in Ukraine.
In the interview with the US news station, the president also said that the war against Iran is “almost over” and that Washington is “well ahead” of the original estimated deadline of four to five weeks, according to posts on the CBS News journalist's X social network.
“I think the war (with Iran, no) is mostly almost over. They (the Iranians, no) have no navy, no communications, no air force,” Trump said.
The G7 announcement
Finance ministers from the Group of 7 industrialized nations discussed on Monday a possible use of strategic oil reserves to help stabilize the market as crude oil prices have soared due to the Middle East war, but no decision has yet been made.
“We will follow the situation closely, we are prepared to take all necessary measures, including accessing strategic oil reserves, to stabilize the market, but we are not there yet,” French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said at the end of the meeting.
Such a measure, if it turns out to be necessary, can only be effective if it is implemented in a coordinated way, explained Roland Lescure from Brussels, where he is attending a meeting of the Eurogroup, reported AFP and Agerpres.
On his way to Cyprus on Monday morning, French President Emmanuel Macron said “the use of strategic reserves is an option under consideration”. “Coordination between heads of state and government in the G7 is under consideration this week on energy,” the French president added.
Macron also announced that a meeting of energy ministers would be held on Tuesday on the sidelines of the nuclear summit, which will bring together some 60 countries in Paris.
France, which currently holds the G7 presidency, called for a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the G7 countries (the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany and Italy) via video conference at 1:30 p.m. (12:30 GMT) on Monday to “assess the situation in the Gulf.”
Coordinated oil withdrawals from strategic reserves have only been carried out five times so far, twice in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Prior to that, strategic reserves were accessed following supply disruptions in Libya, Hurricane Katrina and during the first Gulf War.
On Monday, Brent crude rose to nearly $120 a barrel from around $72 before the war, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz largely blocked exports from Persian Gulf oil producers.
Several major oil producers, including the United Arab Emirates and Iraq, have already been forced to cut production due to a lack of storage space, while Saudi Arabia scrambles to reroute exports through the Red Sea.
Consumers around the world are already feeling the impact of the disruptions in the Middle East, with queues at gas stations and soaring airfares.
Many Asian refiners, which depend on Middle Eastern oil, have been forced to cut back as they struggle to find alternative sources of supply.
