The US is viewing Iran's ability to continue shipping oil tankers through the strait of Hormuz as helpful for addressing the disruption in Mideast Gulf oil supply, US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday.
"We are seeing more and more fuel ships start to go through," Bessent told CNBC. "The Iranian ships have been getting out already, and we will let that happen to supply the rest of the world."
Tehran, which has managed to bring commercial traffic through Hormuz largely to a halt after the US-Israel war against Iran began on 28 February, appears to have made a tacit understanding with India to allow two tankers to transit through Hormuz. The Indian government is in talks with Iran to ensure safe passage for six more LPG tankers, which could lead to more India-linked crude tankers crossing the strait. Iran has also not interfered with the passage of two Pakistan-bound tankers, the most recent one on 15 March.
"We are open to countries who want to talk to us about the safe passage of their vessels," Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told CBS News on Sunday.
President Donald Trump and his key officials have stopped short of explicitly acknowledging that Iran has enforced a near halt on oil and LNG shipments through Hormuz and continue to insist that the shipments will begin "very soon".
Five tankers carrying LPG, LNG and crude went through the strait of Hormuz Saturday evening, US energy secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday. "So, we know flow through the (strait) of Hormuz is possible."
Trump's call over the weekend on US allies and China to step in and help implement his promise of naval escorts for ships transiting Hormuz has not elicited immediate pledges of help.
EU foreign ministers will discuss ways of keeping the strait of Hormuz open on Monday, although there appear to be no positive responses to Trump's plea for naval help.
There are no immediate plans to dispatch Japanese warships to Hormuz, Japanese prime minister's office said on Monday.
"We will not be drawn into the wider war," UK prime minister Keir Starmer said on Monday. "We're working with our allies including our European partners, to bring together a viable, collective plan that can restore freedom of navigation in the region as soon as possible", Starmer said.
"It is not our war, we didn't start it," German defense minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday. "What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates to accomplish in the strait of Hormuz that the powerful US Navy cannot accomplish there alone?", Pistorius said.
Trump said on Sunday that Nato members should help the US in Hormuz because the closure of the strait "doesn't affect us, but we've helped them."
The military task of enforcing passage through Hormuz "is small because Iran has very little firepower left", Trump said.
"For years, we've been maintaining it, doing a great job," Trump said. "Now that (Iran's) military has been greatly diminished, I think it's a good thing for other countries to come in."
Trump said in a social media post that he plans to hold a press conference at 11:45am ET on Monday, his second since the war began.
