WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Saturday that U.S. forces are “clearing” the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the center of the six-week war with Iran, as Washington and Tehran opened direct talks in Islamabad in the highest-level meeting between the two countries in decades. Reuters reported that Trump claimed all 28 Iranian mine-laying vessels in the area had been destroyed, while AP reported the negotiations began under a fragile ceasefire after weeks of fighting that shook energy markets and regional alliances.
The two developments show how unstable the current moment remains. On one hand, the White House is projecting military control over the waterway. On the other, direct diplomacy is only just beginning and key issues remain unresolved, including access through Hormuz, Iran’s frozen assets, and the shape of any lasting ceasefire. Reuters reported that the U.S. delegation included Vice President JD Vance and Jared Kushner, while Iran’s side included senior leadership figures tied to both government and wartime decision-making.
The strategic problem for both sides is that Hormuz is not just a battlefield issue. It is the main economic lever in the conflict. Reuters reported the shutdown has become one of the worst disruptions to global energy supplies in history, while AP said the war has already driven oil and gas prices higher and unsettled markets well beyond the Middle East.
For the Trump administration, Saturday’s message was meant to show simultaneous strength and flexibility: military force in the waterway, diplomacy at the table. But because those two tracks are moving at once, any setback in Pakistan or renewed confrontation at sea could quickly turn a fragile pause back into a wider war.