Trump holds talks on prolonged Iran blockade, urges Tehran to reach a deal

Washington: Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long US blockade of Iran's ports with oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the US renewed its calls for other nations to help open the Strait of Hormuz. Tuesday's talks with oil executives followed a deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the United States to try to squeeze Iran's oil exports with a naval blockade aimed at forcing it to reopen the Strait to shipping. As Washington and Tehran traded public threats, mediator Pakistan was trying to avoid escalation while the two sides exchange messages on a potential deal, a Pakistani source told Reuters on Wednesday. Trump has said Iran can call if it wants to talk and, in a post on Truth Social earlier on Wednesday, said Tehran "couldn't get its act together." He and the oil executives "discussed the steps President Trump has taken to alleviate global oil markets and steps we could take to continue the current blockade for months if needed and minimize impact on American consumers," the White House official said. Oil prices rose more than 6% on Wednesday, with the Brent contract hitting a one-month high on prospects of a lengthy blockade. The war has cost the US military $25 billion so far, a senior Pentagon official said, providing the first official estimate of the price tag for the conflict. Iran has pledged to continue disrupting traffic through the Strait as long as it is threatened, which may mean more Middle East oil supply disruptions from a conflict that has killed thousands and brought global economic upheaval. With talks stalled, Trump is set to receive a briefing on Thursday on new plans for potential military action from the leader of the US Central Command, Axios said. Tehran warned on Wednesday of "unprecedented military action" against continued US blockading of Iran-linked vessels. Trump has said Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, while Tehran says its nuclear ambitions are peaceful. "They don't know how to sign a non-nuclear deal. They'd better get smart soon!" Trump said in the social media post, without explaining what such a deal would entail. The post featured a mock-up image of him wearing dark glasses and wielding a machinegun, captioned, "No more Mr. Nice Guy." The United States is asking other countries to join a new international coalition that would enable ships to navigate the Strait of Hormuz after traffic through the waterway stalled, according to an internal State Dept cable seen by Reuters. The proposed coalition, dubbed the "Maritime Freedom Construct", would share information, coordinate diplomatically and help enforce sanctions, the cable showed. France, Britain and other countries have held talks on contributing to such a coalition but said they are only willing to help open the Strait, a chokepoint for global energy supplies, after hostilities cease. Meanwhile, Trump faces domestic pressure to end a war for which he has given shifting rationales to a US public struggling with surging gasoline prices. His approval rating fell to the lowest of his current term, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.