Trump to meet security team as Iran makes conditional offer to end Hormuz blockade, reports say

Meanwhile, a top Iranian official said his country’s armed forces would be the authority responsible for the Strait of Hormuz under a proposed national law for managing the waterway.

Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran’s parliament, told state television the armed forces were already in control of the strait and were seeking to prohibit the passage of “hostile vessels”.

Azizi said the law also proposes that money generated from ships’ passage through the strait should be paid in Iran’s rial currency.

US and Israel jointly launched a war against Iran on February 28, targeting its politicians, military and civilian facilities, including schools, power plants, ports and nuclear facilities.

In retaliation, Tehran fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and GCC nations hosting US bases, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The April 7 ceasefire brokered by Pakistan after some 40 days of fighting has so far held, but its economic shock waves have continued to reverberate globally.

Iran has blockaded Hormuz, cutting off flows of oil, gas and fertiliser and sending prices soaring, raising fears of food insecurity in developing countries.

In response, the US has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports in the waterway and beyond.
Trump faces domestic pressure as fuel prices rise following Iran’s closure of Hormuz, with midterm elections due in November.

Polls show the war is unpopular among Americans.