Washington: President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that vast numbers of empty oil tankers are steaming toward the United States to stock up on American oil and gas, as US and Iranian officials convened in Pakistan to address the Strait of Hormuz standoff, Reuters reported.
“Massive numbers of completely empty oil tankers, some of the largest anywhere in the World, are heading, right now, to the United States to load up with the best and ‘sweetest’ oil and gas anywhere in the World. We have more oil than the next two largest oil economies combined – and higher quality,” Trump declared in a Truth Social post.
The boast follows Trump’s earlier demand this week that Iran drop fees on tankers transiting the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, which has triggered the most severe global energy supply crisis on record.
Trump’s message arrived as top US and Iranian negotiators gathered in Islamabad under Pakistani mediation, with Tehran outlining non-negotiable conditions for direct talks to resolve their six-week conflict.
The talks build on a fragile two-week ceasefire forged after mounting threats, including Trump’s Easter Sunday ultimatum threatening strikes on Iranian power plants and bridges unless the strait reopened.
Tehran has upheld its authority over the vital waterway throughout the truce, while Washington insists on toll-free access – a core dispute now aired publicly at the highest levels.
Leading the US side is Vice President JD Vance, flanked by chief negotiator Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Iran’s delegation features Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Pakistan, architect of the ceasefire, seeks modest progress to sustain momentum, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif labeling Saturday’s session a “make-or-break moment.”
