WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – US President Donald Trump has again extended his ultimatum to Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. There will be no attacks on Iranian power plants until April 6th at 8:00 p.m. (US Eastern time, April 7th 2:00 a.m. German time), Trump announced, referring to “very good” conversations on the Truth Social platform.
According to the US President, Iran asked for a postponement. Actually, the deadline set by Trump would have expired next Saturday, German time.
Trump had threatened Iran to destroy power plants if Tehran did not fully open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping traffic “without threats.” He had originally set an ultimatum that would have expired on Tuesday night German time. On Monday he announced that he would refrain from such attacks for another five days due to “very good and productive discussions about a complete and final settlement of our hostilities.”
Iran had threatened to retaliate
Iran had threatened, among other things, to completely close the strait, which is very important for global oil trade, in the event of attacks on its power plants. Tehran also threatened attacks on energy facilities in Gulf states in retaliation.
Before his latest announcement, Trump had not ruled out postponing the deadline. “I don’t know yet,” he said in Washington when asked whether the deadline had been postponed. Trump said his son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Vice President JD Vance would brief him on progress in negotiations. It depends on whether the ultimatum remains. “We have plenty of time,” Trump said.
The conflict over the Strait of Hormuz
Iran, which was attacked by the USA and Israel, had repeatedly radioed ships in the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war not to pass through. Since then, Tehran has repeatedly attacked ships in the region – with serious consequences for global trade in gas and oil.
The strait is the only connection between the Persian Gulf and the world’s oceans and is considered one of the most important shipping routes in the world. Around a fifth of the world’s oil demand is transported through the passage. Most of it goes to China, India and other Asian countries. About 20 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas trade also passes through the strait.
People in Germany are feeling the effects of the de facto blockade, among other things, when refueling because the prices for gasoline and diesel have risen sharply. Experts suspect that food could also become more expensive./ngu/DP/jha
