Iran took a contemptuous victory lap after Donald Trump abandoned his threat to send it back to the Stone Ages, boasting that it—not America—controls the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump, 79, announced at 6:32 p.m. on Tuesday night that he would suspend attacks on Iran for two weeks “subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz.”
However, Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said in a statement, posted by Trump to his Truth Social account with 12 million followers, that Iran’s Armed Forces would still control the strait.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordinating with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations,” Araghchi said.
Araghchi also claimed that the U.S. had accepted the “general framework” of Iran’s 10-point peace plan. The proposal includes a lifting of all sanctions and a fee of roughly $2 million per ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway where about 20 percent of the world’s gas and oil supply passes through.
Trump said of the plan, “We received a 10 point proposal from Iran, and believe it is a workable basis on which to negotiate. Almost all of the various points of past contention have been agreed to between the United States and Iran, but a two week period will allow the Agreement to be finalized and consummated. ”
Trump also tried to spin his deadline U-turn as a victory saying, “we have already met and exceeded all Military objectives, and are very far along with a definitive Agreement concerning Longterm PEACE with Iran, and PEACE in the Middle East.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast.
The first round of negotiations is not set to take place until Friday in Islamabad, Pakistan, according to Axios’ Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed to Fox News that “there are discussions about in person talks, but nothing is final until announced by the President or the White House.”
Trump’s messaging about the strait has been mixed, having downplayed its importance one day only to then threaten Iran to open it up or face destruction.
According to the Times, Trump, while planning the war, didn’t expect Iran to close down the strait, thinking the regime would concede defeat first.
Oil prices have fluctuated wildly with Trump’s mixed messaging. Following Tuesday night’s announcement, the price of a barrel of oil fell about 15 percent, according to the New York Times, while S&P 500 futures rose over two percent.
Since Trump’s war began at the end of February, the U.S. has lost 13 service members, with hundreds more injured.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 1,665 civilians—among them 244 children—had been killed in Iran through Monday, the beginning of week six of the war.
