Fact Check: Is the claim Iran will offer Hormuz passage to countries expeling US envoys true?
TEHRAN, IRAN: Amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has prompted Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz oil route, a claim has been circulating on social media that the Islamic Republic will allow any country to pass through the strait if it expels the ambassadors of the United States and Israel. Let's fact-check the viral claim.
Claim: Iran to offer safe passage to countries expelling US and Israeli envoys
According to the claim, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has announced that any Arab or European country will be allowed safe passage through the strait, which controls a major percentage of the world's oil trade, if they expel the envoys of the United States and Israel from their territory.
The claim has sparked speculations among netizens, with many questioning the authenticity of the claim.
Fact Check: The claim is indeed true
The claim is indeed true that Iran has offered 'full right and freedom' to transit the strategic waterway if Arab and European nations sever ties with the US and Israel, as per state broadcaster IRIB.
Iran claims to control the strategic waterway through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply normally passes, and has become a focal point of the confrontation between US-Israel and Iran, with uncertainty about supply sparking considerable volatility in global energy prices.
Oil price tops $100 as Donald Trump warns against Hormuz disruption
Global oil prices surged past $100 per barrel early on Monday as concerns mounted over potential disruptions to energy supplies through the strait.
The tensions follow joint US-Israeli strikes targeting Iranian military installations, which have triggered retaliatory attacks by Iran using drones and rockets against oil- and gas-producing nations in the Gulf, several of which host US military bases.
Trump has acknowledged the spike in oil prices but dismissed it as a temporary consequence of the conflict.
“Short term oil prices, which will drop rapidly when the destruction of the Iran nuclear threat is over, are a very small price to pay for US and World, Safety and Peace,” the president wrote on Truth Social on Sunday.
Trump also warned Iran against interfering with shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The president said that the United States 'could do a lot' regarding the strait and indicated that he was considering direct control of the strategic route.
“They’ve shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute, or it’s going to be the end of that country,” Trump said. “If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran, and you’d never hear the name again.”
