Iranian Minister: Hormuz open to all ships except those from U.S., Israel

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Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz waterway was open to all merchant traffic except for ships from the U.S. and Israel, according to a report in the Jerusalem Post.

Araghchi said ships from other nations were free to pass, though they might choose not to due to what he called “security concerns.” But the minister said those concerns were not related to Iran, and he claimed that “many tankers and ships are passing through” the narrow strait.

Araghchi’s remarks appear to contradict those from President Donald Trump, who said that U.S. forces in the region would keep “shooting Iranian boats and ships out of the water,” vowing that the strait would re-open soon.

Trump also called on the governments of China, France, Japan, South Korea, the U.K. and other countries impacted by the Iranian closure of the strait to send ships to the area to help reopen the shipping lane, which until recently saw around a fifth of the world’s oil supply pass through it.