WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said late Tuesday that Iran wants to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed to “save face.”
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed; they want it open so they can make $500 million a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!). They only say they want it closed because I have it totally blockaded (closed!), so they merely want to ‘save face,'” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social.
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait immediately. “But if we do that, there can never be a deal with Iran unless we blow up the rest of their country, their leaders included!”
Earlier Tuesday, Trump announced that the US would extend its ceasefire with Iran to allow time for Tehran to prepare a “unified proposal” following a request by Pakistani officials.
Pakistan hosted talks between the US and Iran on April 11-12 after brokering a two-week cease-fire on April 8, which had been set to expire Wednesday evening, Washington time.
Efforts for another round of negotiations are underway, though uncertainty remains.
In a separate post, Trump claimed that Iran “is collapsing financially.”
“Iran is collapsing financially! They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately, starving for cash!” he wrote.
He argued that Iran is losing roughly $500 million per day due to the situation.
“Military and police are complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!” he added.
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