President Trump said Thursday that Iran’s “present” to the U.S. he mentioned two days earlier was the passage of 10 oil-carrying ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump told reporters at the White House he was having “very substantial” talks with Iran as the conflict continues.
He said that during his discussion with Tehran, “they said ‘to show you the fact that we’re real and solid and we’re there, we’re going to let you have eight boats of oil.’”
“I didn’t think much about it, and then I watched the news, and they said … ’There are eight boats that are going right up the middle of the Hormuz Strait,’” Trump added.
He said that as an apology for something that was said, the nation also allowed two further boats.
The effective closure of the strait since the start of the war has sent oil and gasoline prices soaring. The channel, located near Iran, is a key shipping lane through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil usually travels.
The average U.S. gasoline price Thursday was about $3.98 per gallon, up about a dollar from a month ago, before the conflict began.
Trump has tried to downplay the impacts on fuel prices.
On Thursday, he said that during the war, “I thought the oil prices would go up more and I thought the stock market would go down more. It hasn’t been nearly as severe as I thought.”
On Tuesday, he had proclaimed that Iran “gave us a present” and that it was “a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money.”
He added that it was related to oil and gas but declined to say what exactly it was.
Sources close to the White House told Politico they were baffled by the remark.
Meanwhile, Iran has signaled that it would permit more ships to traverse the Strait. It said earlier this week that “non-hostile vessels” would be allowed to pass through.
Trump’s latest remarks come as he has touted what he describes as productive conversations with Iranian leaders.
Iran, meanwhile, has said that it is reviewing a U.S. plan to end the war, but has also indicated that it is not negotiating with the U.S.
Updated at 12:49 p.m. EDT
