WASHINGTON: Two US warships have reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz, the first such transit since the war with Iran began, as President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States had started &quot;clearing out&quot; the strategic waterway. The US Navy guided-missile destroyers passed through the strait with no issues reported, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing three US officials. The operation was not coordinated with authorities in Tehran, US media outlet Axios said. &quot;We&#39;re now starting the process of clearing out the Strait of Hormuz,&quot; Trump said on his Truth Social platform, calling it &quot;a favor&quot; to countries such as China, Japan and France that &quot;don&#39;t have the Courage or Will to do this work themselves.&quot; He insisted that Iran is &quot;LOSING BIG!&quot; in the conflict, while acknowledging that Iranian mines in the strategic strait &ndash; through which a fifth of the world&#39;s crude passes &ndash; still pose a threat. &quot;The only thing they have going is the threat that a ship may &#39;bunk&#39; into one of their sea mines,&quot; Trump wrote. US officials did not immediately respond to AFP requests for comments about the reports. The key shipping lane off the coast of Iran has been virtually blocked by Tehran since the United States and Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, though reopening the strait was ostensibly a condition of the shaky ceasefire put in place earlier this week. Senior Iranian and American officials began negotiations in Pakistan on Saturday, in a bid to bring to an end a conflict that has plunged the Middle East into violence and sent shockwaves through the world economy. In an earlier post, Trump said that empty tankers were headed to the United States from around the world to purchase oil, without providing details.

A view of the vessels passing through Strait of Hormuz following the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the United States and Iran on the condition that the strait be reopened, seen in Oman on April 08, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

Two US warships transited the Strait of Hormuz as President Donald Trump said the United States began clearing the vital waterway amid Iran conflict, while negotiations started in Pakistan Saturday.

Articles tagged with "US Iran ceasefire"

US warships transit Strait of Hormuz: media

US warships transit Strait of Hormuz: media