Trump threatens Iran with bombing if it doesn’t reopen Strait of Hormuz
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with more bombing Wednesday if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a report that an agreement is emerging to end the war.
Trump posted on social media that the war with Iran could soon end and oil and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. president did not detail.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts,” Trump wrote.
Trump’s threats came after China’s foreign minister called for a comprehensive ceasefire in the Iran war following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was visiting Beijing for the first time since the war with the U.S. and Israel started Feb. 28.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Wednesday his country was “deeply distressed” by the conflict.
China’s close economic and political ties to Tehran give it a unique position of influence. The Trump administration is pressing China to use that relationship to urge the Islamic Republic to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s effective closure of the strait, a vital waterway through which major oil and gas supplies, fertilizer and other petroleum products passed before the war, has sent fuel prices skyrocketing, rattled the global economy and put enormous economic pressure on countries, including major powers like China.
The spot price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell to around $100 per barrel Wednesday, easing significantly from big price jumps earlier in the week. The prices are still well above the roughly $70 a barrel that crude was selling for before the war began.
