Trump Links Iran ‘Gift’ to Strait of Hormuz, Claims Strong US Bargaining Position

COLOMBO (News 1st); US President Donald Trump said Iran has taken a significant step toward a deal with the United States, revealing that Tehran delivered what he described as a “very big present” linked to oil and gas, and associated with the flow through the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to journalists, Trump said the gesture, which he described as being worth “a tremendous amount of money,” arrived on the day of his remarks and had been promised in advance by Iran. He declined to specify exactly what the “present” was, but emphasized its importance, saying it demonstrated that the United States is “dealing with the right people.”

“They’re going to make a deal,” Trump said. “They did something yesterday that was amazing actually. They gave us a present and the present arrived today and it was a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money. I’m not going to tell you what that present is, but it was a very significant prize, and they gave it to us and they said they were going to give it. So that meant one thing to me. We’re dealing with the right people.”

When asked directly whether the move was related to Iran’s nuclear program, Trump said it was not. Instead, he said the gesture was tied to oil and gas.

“No, it wasn’t nuclear related. It was oil and gas related and it was a very nice thing they did,” he said. Trump added that the action carried particular significance given the state of Iran’s leadership.

He referred to what he described as sweeping losses within Iran’s leadership structure, stating that the past supreme leader was “all gone,” that the new supreme leader was “racked up pretty good,” and that others in the upper tiers of leadership were no longer in place. Despite that, Trump said the current group in charge had shown reliability by following through on what it said it would do.

“But what it showed me is that we’re dealing with the right people,” he said, noting that those who delivered the “present” were the only ones capable of doing so.

When asked whether the development was related to the Strait of Hormuz and the flow of shipping through it, Trump confirmed that it was connected both to the flow and to the strait itself.

“Yes, it was related to the flow and to the strait,” he said. Pressed further on whether negotiations were underway over who would control the strait going forward, Trump dismissed that notion, asserting broad US leverage.

Trump said his goal was to resolve the situation without further loss of life or destruction of major infrastructure, including what he described as “$10 billion electric plants that are brand new and the apple of their eye.” At the same time, he stressed there were clear limits on what Iran could be allowed to have.

“But they can’t have certain things. You know the things,” he said. “Again, it starts with no nuclear weapons, and they’ve agreed to that. There won’t be any nuclear weapons. They’re not going to happen and they’re not going to have enrichment, any of those things.”

The president said the United States was negotiating from what he described as an exceptionally strong position, claiming the process was moving faster than expected. While saying he disliked using the term, Trump said Iran was effectively without meaningful defenses.