I see people, including President Donald Trump, celebrating the opening of the Strait of Hormuz.
I found a few problems, especially after one expert pointed out that the foreign minister’s statement lacks “clarity.”
“From the shipping perspective, it is certainly promising, but it doesn’t immediately give anybody enough clarity to make any firm decisions,” said Richard Meade, editor-in-chief of Lloyd’s List, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Yeah, some outlets and people have either buried the lede or omitted a few crucial details.
For instance, ships can only use an Iranian-approved route, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Aragchi.
In other words, Iran has control over the Strait:
In line with the ceasefire in Lebanon, the passage for all commercial vessels through Strait of Hormuz is declared completely open for the remaining period of ceasefire, on the coordinated route as already announced by Ports and Maritime Organisation of the Islamic Rep. of Iran.
We do not know if Iran will impose a toll on those ships.
There’s another thing. The Tasnim News Agency, which is associated with the Revolutionary Guard, claimed Iran has three conditions:
Also, Iran will close the Strait if Trump continues the naval blockade.
THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS COMPLETELY OPEN AND READY FOR BUSINESS AND FULL PASSAGE, BUT THE NAVAL BLOCKADE WILL REMAIN IN FULL FORCE AND EFFECT AS IT PERTAINS TO IRAN, ONLY, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS OUR TRANSACTION WITH IRAN IS 100% COMPLETE. THIS PROCESS SHOULD GO VERY QUICKLY IN THAT MOST OF THE POINTS ARE ALREADY NEGOTIATED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J.TRUMP
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