'Dishonourable!': Trump Says 'Iran Doing A Very Poor Job' As Ship Traffic Slumps In Strait Of Hormuz Despite Ceasefire

(MENAFN- Live Mint) US President Donald Trump, on 9 April, said that Iran is doing a“very poor job” of managing the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran against charging fees on oil tankers passing through the critical route.

"Iran is doing a very poor job, dishonorable some would say, of allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz," he wrote on his social media site.

“That is not the agreement we have!”

The post came after Trump posted earlier, "There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait – They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!

These comments come a day before the top US and Iranian officials are due to gather in Islamabad on 10 April for crucial peace talks that could potentially end the Middle East conflict.

The White House supports reopening the strait as part of the ceasefire deal, but says that Trump opposes Iran's military, which continues to control the waterway, from seeking to raise revenue by charging tolls on passing ships. Tehran, meanwhile, cited Israel's ongoing attacks on Lebanon, which included the heaviest strikes of the war on Wednesday, as a key sticking point.

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Iran released on Wednesday a 10-point proposal for a settlement of the war that included maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz, acceptance of Iran's right to nuclear enrichment, lifting of sanctions and ending the war, including against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

In the first 24 hours of the ceasefire, which Trump announced late on Tuesday (US time), just a single oil products tanker and five dry bulk carriers sailed through the strait. The strait typically saw well over 100 ships passing through it daily in peacetime.

Strait of Hormuz traffic subdued despite ceasefire

Meanwhile, ship-tracking data showed that, underlining Iran's tight grip over the Strait of Hormuz, a Botswana-flagged LNG tanker, Nidi, tried to leave the Persian Gulf via a route directed by the Revolutionary Guard but suddenly turned around and headed back early Friday.

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On Thursday, four tankers and three bulk carriers crossed through the Strait of Hormuz, bringing the total number of ships passing through since the ceasefire to at least 12, according to the data firm, Kpler. However, other vessels that were not transmitting their locations may have also made the passage unnoticed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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