Iran has granted passage through the Strait of Hormuz to a number of Iraqi oil tankers after repeated requests from Baghdad, even as President Trump said he now views the waterway as "American territory" and claimed "total control" of it. Iraq is also chasing alternative export routes through Turkey, Syria, and Jordan, while Tehran ties any full reopening of Hormuz to sanctions relief.
Iran has granted permission for a number of Iraqi oil tankers to transit the Strait of Hormuz, state news agency IRNA reported Saturday, following repeated requests from Baghdad.
Iraq works around a squeezed strait
The concession followed a visit to Iraq by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Iraqi President Nizar Amedi said Iran had already facilitated the passage of some Iraqi oil vessels, calling the issue complicated.
Iraq, which was producing roughly 4 million barrels per day before the war, is also pursuing alternative export routes through Turkey's Ceyhan port, Syria's Baniyas port, and Jordan's Aqaba port.
Trump claims "total control" of Hormuz
Meanwhile, President Trump told a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that he now views the Strait of Hormuz as "American territory" and has "total control" of it, questioning whether the United States even wants a deal with Iran on those terms. He reiterated that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon.
Ghalibaf said separately that Iran would not reopen Hormuz until Washington meets commitments under a 14-point memorandum, including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and easing oil sanctions.
Tehran pushes back on new sanctions
Trump had earlier told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that new sanctions targeting oil smuggling, financial transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, and front companies represented an "Economic D-Day," urging allies to join in isolating Iran. He cited Iran's 350% inflation and unpaid military personnel.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the new sanctions amount to an unlawful assertion of "extraterritorial sovereignty," violating the UN Charter's sovereign-equality clause and the non-intervention principle affirmed in the ICJ's Nicaragua ruling. Combined with what he called a naval blockade amounting to military aggression, Baqaei warned that this represented a recipe for an abysmal return to full-scale classic colonialism.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the pressure campaign as a repeat of past failed efforts, writing on X: According to Investing.com: "Same bull. Different bullies."
Source: Economy News
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