US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to commercial vessels, despite continuing exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran that have raised concerns over the safety of one of the world’s most important shipping routes.
Trump made the comments during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.
The US president also said that Iran had agreed, just the previous day, to a deal he described as “perfect for us”. “Iran had agreed to a perfect deal for us. They had given up everything,” Trump said.
“Within an hour, they launched a drone attack on a ship,” he said, implying that the attack came almost immediately after the deal was reached.
Trump also launched a personal attack on Iran’s leadership, calling it “sick”, without offering further details about the deal he was referring to or the drone incident.
Earlier, US Central Command (CENTCOM), the US military body overseeing operations in the Middle East, announced that the Strait of Hormuz is open to all vessels and that US forces “have taken up positions and are prepared” to safeguard freedom of navigation.
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