Trump says he would not restore shipping in Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, April 1. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump has said that the United States has no plans to normalize shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. "We’ll be leaving very soon. And if France or some other country wants to get oil or gas, they’ll go up through the straight, the Hormuz Straight, they’ll go right up there, and they’ll be able to fend for themselves. I think it’ll be very safe, actually, but we have nothing to do with that," he told reporters at the White House. "What happens in the strait we’re not going to have anything to do with because these countries, China, will go up, and they’ll fuel up their beautiful ships, and they’ll leave, and they’ll take care of themselves. There’s no reason for us to do it," Trump added. The US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were hit. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and US military facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia. Iranian authorities also decided to close the Strait of Hormuz to vessels linked to the US, Israel, and countries that supported the aggression against the Islamic Republic. During the conflict, several tankers were attacked for transiting the strait without Tehran’s permission. On March 25, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Iran had allowed friendly countries, including Russia, India, Iraq, China, and Pakistan, to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.