President Donald Trump said in a new interview that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States and Iran reach a peace deal to end the ongoing war.
The two nations are set to begin a second round of peace deal talks this week in Islamabad, Pakistan, as a two-week ceasefire is expected to expire.
“We’re not dealing with the nicest group of people, but we’re dealing with them very successfully, and the blockade has been a tremendous success,” Trump told CNBC’s Squawk Box about Tehran. “They said that two days ago, we will open the Strait. And I said, ‘no, we’re not going to open the Strait until we have a final deal’.”
“We totally control the strait, just so you understand, for all the fake news out there,” Trump added.
Iranian leaders played coy about meeting with the U.S. delegation, led by Vice President JD Vance, for a second round of talks. Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, is expected to arrive in Islamabad early Wednesday, officials told the Associated Press, after Tehran had signaled it wouldn’t participate.
Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend after briefly opening it up in response to the U.S. seizing an Iranian-flagged cargo ship it accused of evading a naval blockade. It is unclear whether Iran will agree to reopen the Strait during the second round of negotiations. The first round of negotiations earlier this month failed to produce a peace deal.
Trump has indicated he doesn’t have the desire to extend the two-week ceasefire, telling Squawk Box, “Well, I don’t want to do that.”
“We don’t have that much time, because by the time both parties get there, as you know, they just got the OK to go forward, which I knew they were going to do anyway,” Trump continued. “I don’t think they had any choice. They have to negotiate.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUSHES FOR SECOND CEASEFIRE DEAL WITH IRAN AS GAS PRICES WEIGH ON THE PUBLIC
The president also signaled he is willing to play hardball if a deal isn’t reached, as pressure grows for him to end the war before a 60-day war powers resolution requires explicit approval from Congress.
“Well, I expect to be bombing because I think that’s a better attitude to go in with,” Trump said about resuming bombing Iran. “But we’re ready to go. I mean, the military is raring to go. They are absolutely incredible.”