President Donald Trump said the unidentified Iranian officials his administration is negotiating with on a potential end to the US-Israeli war in Iran allowed "big boats of oil" to cross the strait of Hormuz as a sign of their influence in Tehran.
Earlier this week, Trump said those officials had offered a high-valued "gift" that arrived on 24 March that was related to oil and gas flows through the strait of Hormuz, where the threat of attack from Iran has heavily limited shipments. Trump said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday that the gift was safe passage for eight tankers, which later increased to 10 tankers. The tankers were Pakistani-flagged, Trump said he believes.
"They said, 'To show you the fact that we're real and solid, we're going to let you have eight boats of oil, eight big boats of oil'" that subsequently made it through the strait, Trump said. "And I said, 'Well I guess they were right.'"
Trump this week cited progress in negotiations to order a five-day pause on strikes on Iranian power plants. Argus has tracked two tankers with their transponders on passing through the straiton 24-25 March. Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday said the strait is "not totally closed", except to Iran's "enemies".
Iran can continue to effectively block the flow of most ships through the strait of Hormuz, Trump said, even if the US and Israel are able to destroy 99pc of its attack capabilities, because even a handful of missiles could still destroy a ship worth $1bn. Even so, Trump said he believes that Iran is desperate to reach a deal to end the war.
"They're begging to make a deal, not me," Trump said.
The Trump administration recently presented a 15-point action list of conditions for a peace deal that has been circulated to the Pakistani government as a mediator, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said on Thursday. Iranian leaders have denied they are negotiating with the US, while accusing the administration of "jawboning" to put downward pressure on oil prices.
At the Trump cabinet meeting on Thursday, administration officials took turns praising Trump for his "courage" in Iran and prior intervention in Venezuela. A statue will be built of Trump, US interior secretary Doug Burgum said. Oil markets are well supplied, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said, and Trump's "bold actions" to supplement maritime insurance will soon provide shippers with unprecedented levels of security.
"We are starting to see more and more movement in and out of the Gulf today," Bessent said. "I am confident that shipping traffic will continue to increase on a daily basis, even before we secure the strait."
The Trump administration has tapped emergency powers to try to ease spiking energy prices, including a plan to release 172mn bl of crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, waiving domestic shipping rules under the Jones Act, and waiving fuel volatility requirements. Trump said there were no imminent plans to suspend a longstanding federal excise tax of 18.4¢/USG on gasoline and 24.4¢/USG tax on diesel but that it remains a possibility.
"It's something we have in our pocket," Trump said.
