‘Iran is doing a very poor job allowing Oil to go through the Strait of Hormuz,’ said US President Donald Trump, Thursday evening, in a social media post, adding that this was not under the terms of the agreement done between the two countries.
“That is not the agreement we have!”
The post came after Trump posted earlier that “There are reports that Iran is charging fees to tankers going through the Hormuz Strait – They better not be and, if they are, they better stop now!” The White House supports reopening the strait as part of the ceasefire deal, but says that Trump opposes Iran's military, which continues to control the waterway, from seeking to raise revenue by charging tolls on passing ships.
Earlier, in a potential boost to Middle East ceasefire efforts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he authorised direct negotiations with Lebanon “as soon as possible” aimed at disarming Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants and establishing relations between the neighbours. The two countries have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Netanyahu later stressed that there was no ceasefire between them.
Netanyahu's authorisation of negotiations with Lebanon came amid disagreement over whether the ceasefire deal included a pause in fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, and a day after Israel pounded Beirut with airstrikes, the deadliest day in Lebanon since the war began on February 28.
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