As the war continues in West Asia, the United States (US) seems to be changing its stance in the region, with President Donald Trump on Thursday refusing to deploy troops in Iran, while his top aide said Washington is mulling removing sanctions on the Middle East nation. Trump, whoย made the remarks following a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the White House in Washington, DC, however, also stressed that Iranย continues to remain a ‘serious threat’ to the world.
“I am not putting troops anywhere. If I were, I certainly would tell you not,” the 79-year-old American leader said. “Iran is a serious threat to the world. Every country agrees with me on that.”
Trump also reiterated his threats to the Kharg Island and said the US can take it anytime it wants. The island, Trump said, is “totally unprotected”. However, he said the US has not taken out the pipes as rebuilding them might take years.ย
He also said that he has asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to not attack the oil and gas facilities in Iran anymore. “We donโt use the Strait of Hormuz; we are defending it for everybody else. NATO doesnโt want to help us defend the Strait, and they are the ones who need it,” the American president said.ย
US mulls removing sanctions on Iranian oilย
While Trump has said that he will not deploy troops in Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Washington is considering removing sanctions from Iranian oil that is stranded on oil tankers in the sea to control global crude rates.
“In the coming days, we may unsanction the Iranian oil thatโs on the water. Itโs about 140 million barrels,” Bessent told Fox Business Network’s ‘Mornings with Maria’ programme. “So, depending on how you count it, thatโs 10 days to two weeks of supply.”
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has increased to as high as USD 118 a barrel, up more than 60 per cent after the beginning of the war between the US, Israel and Iran. The European benchmark for natural gas prices rose 17 per cent on Thursday and has doubled in the past month. Analysts have said that Middle East nations are facing export challenges amid uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, leading to uncertainty in the prices.
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