Strait of Hormuz will open after conclusion of conflict with Iran

WASHINGTON, April 2. /TASS/. Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz will be fully restored after the conflict with Iran ends, particularly because Tehran has an interest in selling oil, US President Donald Trump stated. "When this conflict is over, the Strait [of Hormuz] will open up naturally," the US leader said during a televised address to the nation. "They're going to want to be able to sell oil, because that's all they have to try and rebuild," Trump added, referring to the Iranian authorities. "It [oil] will resume flowing, and gas prices will rapidly come back down," he pointed out. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian leaders were killed in the joint US-Israeli attack. In turn, Iranian authorities decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships linked to the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for passing through the strait without Tehran’s permission. On March 25, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had authorized passage through the Strait of Hormuz for friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan.