Florida [US], March 23 (ANI): United States President Donald Trump on Monday said the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route, will be "open very soon" amid the conflict in West Asia and suggested that he envisions it being managed jointly by the US and Iran.
Speaking to reporters here, Trump said that the strait will be "open very soon" if ongoing negotiations with Tehran continue successfully.
He added that he and the newly appointed Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, will "jointly" control the critical shipping and global energy route.
"It'll be jointly controlled. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah is," the US President added.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical transit route that normally handles 15 million barrels per day of crude oil and 5 million barrels per day of oil products, representing roughly 25 per cent of global seaborne oil trade.
However, due to the conflict in the region, the waterway has been considered high-risk for transit, choking the global energy supply.
Trump also highlighted that the recent early strikes in the conflict had targeted much of Iran's senior leadership, saying, "And there'll also be a very serious form of regime change. There's automatically a regime change," and noted that talks over the weekend showed potential to reduce tensions.
Commenting on the individuals involved in negotiations, Trump said, "But we're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are, they're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for."
Earlier today, the US President announced that he had instructed the US Department of War to delay any military action against Iranian power plants and energy sites for five days, citing ongoing diplomatic engagements with Tehran amid escalating tensions in West Asia.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the United States and Iran had held "very good and productive conversations" over the past two days aimed at resolving hostilities in the region.
He added that the decision to pause strikes was based on the "tenor and tone" of the discussions, which he described as "in-depth, detailed, and constructive". Trump further stated that the conversations will continue through the week.
"I am please to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East," the post read.
"Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy Infrastructure for a five day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" it added.
The announcement came as the war between Israel, the US, and Iran had entered its fourth week.

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This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.