President Donald Trump said Monday that he and the top leader of Iran could control the Strait of Hormuz if a deal to end the war is reached.
Trump told CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins that the strait could be “jointly controlled” by the United States and Iran. “Maybe me? Maybe me. Me and the ayatollah, whoever the ayatollah is,” he said when asked who specifically would be in control of the body of water in this case.
The Strait of Hormuz has been largely blocked since the U.S. and Israel started the conflict on Feb. 28, although some cargo ships have been able to make their way through the strait despite the wartime conditions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denies that the strait has been closed.
“Strait of Hormuz is not closed. Ships hesitate because insurers fear the war of choice you initiated—not Iran,” he said in a Sunday statement directed toward Trump. “No insurer—and no Iranian—will be swayed by more threats. Try respect. Freedom of Navigation cannot exist without Freedom of Trade. Respect both—or expect neither.”
After U.S. officials held talks with their Iranian counterparts on Sunday evening, Trump ordered the Department of War to halt any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy facilities until further notice. The pause is accompanied by renewed peace talks, which are expected to last five days.
Araghchi’s ministry denied any negotiations with the Trump administration.
If a deal is reached with the Islamic regime, Trump says the U.S. will seize the enriched uranium — or “nuclear dust,” as he called it Monday — that is critical to Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the initial joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on their compound in Tehran. It remains unclear whether the clerical successor is alive, as he has not shown himself in public since taking power.
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“We have not heard from the son,” Trump told reporters on Monday. “Every once in a while, you’ll see a statement made. But we don’t know if he’s living.”
The new supreme leader has only published written statements, contrary to his father, who frequently issued threats toward the U.S. on Iranian state television before his death.
