President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States has swept the Strait of Hormuz for mines and claimed the US Navy has full control of the vital waterway.
“It’s open now. Look, the only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“They will, on occasion, drop a mine, and we find the mine,” the president added. “You know, we’ve mine swept the entire strait, as you probably maybe heard, maybe you didn’t hear.”
He added that the United States controls the strait “100%.”
Earlier Monday, Trump applied a new condition to talks with Iran, saying he would require compensation from the country for past misdeeds after Tehran said US compensation was required to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said an agreement with Oman to manage the strait would not be enough to reopen the waterway unless the United States meets the list of conditions.
