Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) asserted the Strait of Hormuz “will open with or without Iran,” ahead of ceasefire talks with Tehran scheduled in Islamabad.Click here for live updates“I wish him luck… They (Iran) are militarily defeated, and now we are going to open up the Gulf, with or without them,” Trump told reporters ahead of talks in Pakistan’s capital. He was referring to Vice President JD Vance, who is leading the American delegation and has reportedly been opposed to a military campaign against Iran. .“If it doesn’t, we are going to finish it off, one way or the other, it is going well. The Navy and Airforce (of Iran) is gone, along with all the anti-aircraft systems, the leaders and the whole placeThe Strait of Hormuz will open up automatically… We will have it open fairly soon,” Trump told reporters ahead of the talks in Pakistan’s capital,” Trump said.Vance is accompanied by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law. The Iranian delegation is being led by foreign minister Abbas Araghchi and parliamentary speaker MD Ghalibaf.Trump further stated that he would not allow Tehran to impose transit charges on ships passing through the Strait.“No, we are not going to allow that, it’s international waters. If they are doing that, we are not going to let that happen,” he said.Tehran has virtually blockaded the Strait of Hormuz — a critical maritime corridor between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman — in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes on February 28 that triggered the current Middle East conflict.Roughly 20% of the world’s crude oil supply passes through the waterway, underscoring its global strategic importance.Meanwhile, Trump asserted a backup plan would not be needed if truce discussions were to fail.“I have to see what happens tomorrow. They (Iran) have been talking for 47 years with other Presidents — and we’re not doing much talking. We don’t need a backup plan. Their military is defeated, they have very few missiles, very little manufacturing capability. We have hit them hard. Our military has done an amazing job,” the Republican remarked. The current 14-day truce is already hanging by a thread over Israel’s continued attacks in Lebanon despite the ceasefire. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese group, joined the war after Iran’s then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the conflict.Israel says that the truce pact does not cover Lebanon.
