LONDON: Between 20 and 30 tankers are passing through the Strait of Hormuz each night, with US President Donald Trump insisting “that sucker is open,” US news website Axios reported on Friday.
Shipping through the waterway was drastically restricted by an Iranian blockade after the US and Israel launched attacks on Tehran six months ago.
But Washington claims vessels are increasingly able to pass through one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints thanks to the efforts of the US military.
“That sucker is open,” Trump told news website Axios in a phone interview. “The Iranian response is very mild. They don’t want us to go back at them. That’s the whole ball game. The rest doesn’t matter.”
The report said Washington believes it has turned the tide on Iran’s ability to control the strait, which was conduit for 20 percent of the world’s oil supplies before the conflict.
