New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to hit Iran’s nuclear plants if it does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz for shipping, has said that the US does not need oil from the sea passage. Trump, in his address to the US, urged other countries that rely on the Strait of Hormuz for oil to “take care of the passage, grab and cherish it”. LIVE UPDATES

“There’s no country like us anywhere in the world, and we’re in great shape for the future. The United States imports almost no oil through the Hormuz Strait, and won’t be taking any in the future. We don’t need it. We haven’t needed it, and we don’t need it. And the countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. They must grab it and cherish it,” Trump said.

According to Trump, he decided to threaten Iran over Hormuz for many of those countries that refused to get involved in the “decapitation of Iran”. He said that the countries that depend on fuel from Hormuz should take the lead in “protecting the oil”, while the US will help them.

Trump Says “We’re Nearing Completion” In Iran War, Won’t Let Allies Get Hurt

“They can do it easily. We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on. So, to those countries that can’t get fuel, many of which refuse to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, we had to do it ourselves,” he said.

The Hormuz sea passage, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is an important route for approximately 25 per cent of the world’s oil – and even more for India, whose 80 per cent of energy important passes through it. Iran has closed the passage for shipping, especially for the US and countries supporting the war – bringing to a near halt the transit of hundreds of vessels per day, including container, dry bulk, and liquid cargo ships.

Amid the Hormuz chokehold, Trump gave two suggestions to countries: one, to buy oil from the US, as they “have plenty”; and two, to build up the “delayed courage”.

“…Should have done it before. Should have done it with us, as we asked. Go to the Strait and just take it, protect it. Use it for yourselves,” he said.

WATCH IN FULL: President Donald J. Trump delivers a primetime address to the nation on Operation Epic Fury. pic.twitter.com/ADbwwdrwVc

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 2, 2026

The Republican leader believes that once the ongoing conflict ends, the Strait of Hormuz will “open up naturally”. According to him, the “hard part” of “decimating Iran” has been done, so the opening of the Strait should be “easy”.

“It’ll just open up naturally. They’re going to want to be able to sell oil because that’s all they have to try and rebuild. It will resume the flowing and the gas prices will rapidly come back down. Stock prices will rapidly go back up. They haven’t come down very much, frankly. They came down a little bit, but they’ve had some very good days over the last couple of days. We’ve done, actually, much better than I thought, but we had to take that little journey to Iran to get rid of this horrible threat,” Trump said.

Trump willing to end Iran war?

Trump, in his address today, marked one month since the start of ‘Operation Epic Fury’ against Iran, claiming US military action has destroyed Tehran’s military prowess and will ‘finish the job’ soon as ‘core strategic objectives are nearing completion’.

Earlier, a report had said that the US President told his aides that he is “willing to end” the military operation against Iran, even if the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed. Trump also reportedly said that he would leave a ‘complex operation’ to reopen the chokepoint that carries around a fifth of the world’s oil supply for a “later date”.

According to the report, Trump decided that the US should achieve its main goals of hobbling Iran’s navy and its missile stocks and wind down current hostilities while pressuring Tehran diplomatically to resume the free flow of trade, adding that if that fails, Washington would press allies in Europe and the Gulf to take the lead on reopening the Strait.

Iran war

The war began on February 28 when the US and Israel carried out coordinated airstrikes across Iran after stalled nuclear talks and claims that Tehran had resumed its nuclear activities. The strikes, named ‘Operation Epic Fury’, targeted many Iranian cities and killed many top leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has been launching retaliatory strikes, many of which have damaged several parts of the Gulf region, including the UAE’s Dubai, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Bahrain.