WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said that US negotiators will discuss the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranians in Pakistan on Saturday, asserting the crucial global energy waterway will reopen soon and "automatically, " with or without Iran's cooperation.
"That will open up automatically, " Trump told reporters. He later said he believed the waterway would be open "fairly soon."
"I think it's going to go pretty quickly. And if it doesn't, we'll be able to finish it off one way or the other, " Trump said of the strait, which Iran effectively closed during the more than one month long US-Israeli war against Iran, Xinhua news agency reported.
Trump said his main focus in a deal with Iran was ensuring that Tehran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon.
"No nuclear weapon. That's 99 per cent of it, " Trump said.
Trump also claimed on Friday that Iran has "no cards" other than short-term "extortion" with the Strait of Hormuz.