US 'clearing out' the Strait of Hormuz, Trump says
US President Donald Trump called the move "a favour" to countries that "don't have the courage or will to do this work themselves".
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WASHINGTON: Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday (Apr 11) that the United States had started "clearing out" the strategic waterway.
The US Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the strait with no issues reported, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing three US officials.
The operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran, US media outlet Axios said.
"We're now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it "a favour" to countries such as China, Japan and France that "don't have the courage or will to do this work themselves".
He insisted that Iran is "LOSING BIG!" in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait - through which a fifth of the world's crude passes - still pose a threat.
"The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may 'bunk' into one of their sea mines," Trump wrote.
US officials did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comments about the reports, as US-Iran negotiations toward a deal to end the Middle East war got underway.
The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the US and Israel started bombing Iran on Feb 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the shaky ceasefire put in place earlier this week.
Senior Iranian and American officials began negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday, Iranian media reported, in a bid to bring to an end a conflict that has plunged the Middle East into violence and sent shockwaves through the world economy.
In an earlier post, Trump said that empty tankers were headed to the US from around the world to purchase oil, without providing details.
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