Trump officials acknowledge they can’t promise to reopen Strait of Hormuz before ending Iran war

By Alayna Treene, Kevin Liptak, Jennifer Hansler, CNN

(CNN) — President Donald Trump and his administration increasingly believe that they can’t promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a prerequisite to declaring “mission accomplished” in the war with Iran, sources familiar with the discussions tell CNN.

Inside the White House, many top officials recognize that reopening the oil chokepoint controlled by Tehran is a critical goal — not only for ending the war but also for bringing down soaring oil and gas prices, which are quickly shaping up to be a key liability for Republicans ahead of November’s midterm elections.

But as they stare down Trump’s self-imposed four- to six-week deadline for ending the war, top administration officials have privately acknowledged that they can’t both achieve their military objectives quickly and vow to reopen the strait within the same timeline, according to the sources familiar with those talks. The officials and many in the intelligence community have estimated that it could take weeks, if not months, to return the strait to full operational status. About 20% of the world’s oil supply typically flows through the waterway.

Instead, Trump has communicated publicly, as well as to aides and allies directly, that he believes other countries need to shoulder some, if not most, of the burden. He has argued that because many European nations rely more heavily on the strait for its oil, they must also be responsible for helping get it back up and running.

“What happens to the strait, we’re not going to have anything to do with it,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday evening after saying he believed the war would end in two or three weeks.

He said gas prices would fall in the United States quickly once the war concludes.

Earlier Tuesday, Trump wrote on social media that other countries would need to step up in patrolling the waterway.

“Build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT. You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday morning, singling out the United Kingdom.

Trump has been pressing US allies for weeks to send their own naval assets to the strait to escort tankers. He has grown increasingly frustrated that none have so far agreed to step in while the war is still ongoing. Meanwhile, the collective view among many foreign leaders is that Trump is looking to saddle them with a problem of his own making once he decides the war is over, according to officials familiar with the sentiments.

European leaders, who were not consulted about US strikes on Iran beforehand, have been wary of getting involved in the conflict while it is still raging. A number of nations have signed onto statements pledging cooperation in eventually patrolling the strait, but they haven’t laid down timelines for when that might begin.

Trump has argued that he believes the strait will be easier to reopen once the hostilities with Iran end. He and the White House have also dismissed related concerns over the war’s potential long-term impacts on gas prices, which on Tuesday hit a nationwide average of $4.02 a gallon for the first time since 2022.

“They’ll drop when we leave, when it’s over,” Trump told CBS News in a Tuesday phone interview.

In a statement to CNN, Leavitt again downplayed the spiking prices as a temporary issue: “When Operation Epic Fury is complete, gas prices will plummet back to the multi-year lows American drivers enjoyed before these short-term disruptions.”

White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly in a statement to CNN listed several actions the administration has taken to ease the pain of high oil costs, including lifting some sanctions on Russian oil, providing insurance for tankers in the strait and coordinating the release of 400 million barrels of oil. She said the administration “is and was prepared for any potential action taken by the terrorist Iranian regime.”

“The President is confident that the Strait will be opened very soon, and our military continues to steadily degrade Iran’s ability to terrorize merchant ships,” Kelly added.

Many people within the Trump administration recognize that reopening the strait is critical and, to that end, are still engaging closely with US allies, according to sources familiar with the talks. One person close to the president argued that Trump’s aggressive public rhetoric toward European nations not only reflects his true feelings about the issue but also a good public relations strategy.

“He’s right when he says it’s not just a US problem. But it’s also great politics and, frankly, PR to frame this as a shared issue, and one that requires other countries to step up to fix,” they said.

Top US officials have embraced that message in recent days.

“This Strait of Hormuz issue, which we’ve set the conditions for success and we will make sure Iran knows that very clearly, is not just a United States of America problem set,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a Pentagon briefing Tuesday morning. “We’ve been willing to lead, President Trump’s led the entire time. But it’s not just us.”

“So, ultimately, I think other countries should pay attention,” he added. “You might want to start learning how to fight for yourself.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has maintained that the US still wants to form an international coalition to police the strait, but acknowledged that it was a longer-term goal.

Rubio discussed the matter with G7 counterparts in France last Friday and said many understood the need for such a group.

“We’re working hard to make that happen,” he said.

In remarks following the ministerial, Rubio claimed the administration had “always” viewed an allied coalition to reopen the strait “as a post-conflict necessity,” despite the lack of notice to allied countries before attacks began and pressure from Trump for immediate assistance in the strait.

The secretary of state has also repeatedly indicated that the US would play only a supporting role in such a coalition, saying on Friday that the US was “prepared to be a part of that plan. We don’t have to lead that plan.”

“But these countries have a lot at stake, not just the G7 countries, but countries in Asia and all over the world have a lot at stake and should contribute greatly to that effort to ensure that neither the Strait of Hormuz or, frankly, any international waterways should ever be something that’s controlled or tolled by a nation-state or by a terroristic government like the one that exists in Iran today, and that’s their radical clerical regime,” Rubio added.

Meanwhile, as the US seeks to potentially cede leadership on the reopening of the critical waterway, China and Pakistan — the latter of which is serving as a key negotiator between the US and Iran — have come out with their own five-point plan for “restoring peace and stability” in the Middle East.

It includes a point on the strait.

“China and Pakistan call on the parties to protect the security of ships and crew members stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, allow the early and safe passage of civilian and commercial ships, and restore normal passage through the Strait as soon as possible,” their joint statement Tuesday said.

This story has been updated with comments from President Donald Trump.

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