Trump sends mixed messages on securing the Strait of Hormuz
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The president said Wednesday that the strait "will open up naturally" as its closure sends gas prices soaring at the same time he's urging other countries to "grab it."
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Politics Trump sends mixed messages on securing the Strait of Hormuz By Caitlin Yilek Caitlin Yilek Politics Reporter Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation. Read Full Bio Caitlin Yilek April 2, 2026 / 5:00 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google Washington — President Trump has sent conflicting messages about the Strait of Hormuz over the last few weeks as the world's oil supply has been choked by the Iran war. In a prime-time address Wednesday, Mr. Trump declared that Iran "has been essentially decimated" and "when the conflict is over, the strait will open up naturally." "The hard part is done," Mr. Trump said. But at the same time, he was telling other countries to step up and "take care" of the strait. "They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily." The comments follow weeks of shifting plans from the president on how to secure the waterway between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula through which about a fifth of the world's oil flows. CBS News national security analyst Aaron MacLean said Thursday that Iran has "played the major card that was available to them" by closing the Strait of Hormuz, which at "some point is going to have to be dealt with." The international oil price benchmark, Brent Crude, jumped more than 7% after Mr. Trump's speech. In a March 9 interview with CBS News, the president claimed ships had been entering the strait and he was "thinking about taking it over." But data show that a majority of vessels that have passed through the strait in the last month are linked to Iran as conditions remain perilous. That same day, Mr. Trump told reporters that the U.S. Navy and its partners would escort oil tankers through the strait "if needed." He added that the U.S. would offer "political risk insurance to any ta...
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