President Donald Trump said Sunday the U.S. will help free some ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz amid the U.S. and Israel’s ongoing war with Iran.
Trump said in a social media post that several countries not directly involved in the war had requested assistance from the U.S. in helping free their vessels that were stuck in the strait, many of which he said were running low on food, amid ongoing regional tensions.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” he wrote.
The development comes a day after Trump told reporters he was reviewing a new proposal from Iran to end the war. He later said in a Saturday evening social media post that he anticipated the proposal would be unacceptable since the Iranians “have not yet paid a big enough price for what they have done.”
But Trump insisted in his Sunday social media post that negotiators from the U.S. were having “very positive discussions with the Country of Iran” and expressed optimism “that these discussions could lead to something very positive for all.”
Even as the president was overseeing military activity related to the conflict, he notified lawmakers on Friday that the war had been “terminated” as the White House faced down a 60-day deadline to seek formal congressional authorization for continued military force. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified a day earlier that the administration believed the deadline had been paused by a temporary ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran — a novel theory that Democrats and legal experts dismissed.
Trump threatened in his post to Truth Social that the U.S. would respond “forcefully” if Iran interfered with the operation in the strait, which he dubbed “Project Freedom” and said would begin on Monday morning, Middle East time.
Fuel prices around the world remain elevated with the strait effectively closed to commercial traffic for more than two months. Benchmark oil prices hit a four-year high on Thursday, with the average price at the pump for American drivers rising to $4.45 a gallon on Sunday, up 35 cents in the last week. The U.S. has been blockading ships entering or leaving the strait for three weeks as the Navy works to de-mine the waterway.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a Sunday morning interview on ABC’s “This Week” that prices would fall swiftly once the war comes to an end.
“From all the briefings that I’ve had, once the strait opens, you’ll see prices come down immediately,” Duffy told host Martha Raddatz. “And again, there’s going to be a tail to that. It’s going to take time to get back to where we were before this conflict began, but you’re going to see, I think, immediate relief once the Strait opens.”
