After several ultimatums, US President Donald Trump would finally be ready to end the war in Iran, according to the Wall Street Journal, without waiting for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump has told his advisers that he was ready to end the war in Iran even if the Strait of Hormuz remained closed to ships, officials in the administration cited by the Wall Street Journal said on Monday, March 30.
The reopening of this strategic passage, blocked for several weeks by Iran, was supposed to be the ultimate condition for Washington to halt its joint strikes with Israel in the Middle Eastern country. Otherwise, Donald Trump had threatened Tehran to target Iranian power plants.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the American president ultimately considered that forcing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would prolong the conflict beyond the four to six-week timeframe he had set.
By putting an end to the war, the United States could achieve its initial objectives, the American media reported, namely to paralyze the Iranian navy and its missile stocks, while exerting diplomatic pressure on Tehran to restore free trade circulation.
Contradictory statements
Over the past month, Donald Trump has expressed various opinions on how to handle the Strait of Hormuz. Sometimes, he threatened to bomb Iranian energy infrastructure if the waterway was not reopened by a certain date, then extended his ultimatum until April 6.
At other times, the American president downplayed the importance of the strait for the United States and argued that its closure was a problem for other nations to solve.
Since the start of the war by the Israeli-American offensive in Iran on February 28, Tehran has put pressure on the global economy by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic passage for commercial and oil tankers. The longer the strait remains paralyzed, the higher energy prices rise worldwide.
10,000 additional soldiers
Donald Trump’s sudden willingness to quickly end the war also contradicts recent actions by American forces. This weekend, the American amphibious assault ship Tripoli arrived in the Middle East with “some 3,500” sailors and Marines on board. According to Axios and the Wall Street Journal, the American administration is also considering sending an additional 10,000 troops to reinforce troops in the region, to deliver “the final blow” in this war.
The Pentagon has also presented Donald Trump with an option to infiltrate Iranian territory deeply, according to the Wall Street Journal. The goal? Recovering about 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which Tehran would be keeping in underground nuclear facilities.
So far, Donald Trump has not yet given his approval for such an intervention, which would be risky and dangerous for American forces, as 13 soldiers have died since the conflict began.
On Monday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reaffirmed Washington’s willingness to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that the US would be able to “escort” some ships.
“The market is well supplied, and we see more ships transiting every day, as some countries are currently making deals with the Iranian regime,” Scott Bessent said in an interview with Fox News. “But eventually, the United States will take control of the strait, and navigation freedom will be restored, either through American escorts or a multinational escort.”
In recent days, nearly 40 countries, including the UK, France, and Canada, have committed to “contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage in the strait.” Before the war in Iran, nearly 20% of global oil supply passed through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the US Energy Information Agency.
