Iran peace talks now underway as Trump touts America’s oil supply and mentions ‘alternatives’ to blockaded Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump announced that formal peace talks with Iran are currently underway and announced that ships around the world are heading to the US to ‘load oil’.

Trump touted America’s domestic oil and gas supply in a phone interview with NewsNation on Saturday morning, following a recent post on his Truth Social platform.

The remarks come at a time of growing global concern over the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for the world’s energy shipments.

“Look at the great seas of our world, many of them go to the United States to load oil, we have plenty of oil,” Trump said during the meeting.

The president explained that America’s increased oil activity was not only due to Iran’s refusal to open the Strait of Hormuz, and predicted that the vital waterway would be opened in the ‘not too distant future’.

Directly attacking Tehran, Trump branded Iran a ‘failed nation’.

However, he also hinted at new strategic workarounds for global oil trade that would completely bypass the troubled waters of the Middle East.

“I think people are seeing that there are other alternatives to crossing the Bosphorus,” Trump said.

Vance quietly maneuvered for weeks to secure a lasting diplomatic agreement, despite his longstanding skepticism about foreign intervention and initial misgivings about targeting Iran, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, seen from the United Arab Emirates. The country is divided over whether the United States should withdraw from NATO after other member states refused to provide military support to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Daily Mail/JL Partners flash poll of more than 1,000 registered voters.

When asked if diplomatic talks with Iran had officially begun, Trump said an emphatic ‘yes’.

Asked whether the Iranians were acting in good faith during these risky negotiations, Trump offered a cryptic but confident timeline for when the world would find out.

‘I will let you know very soon, it won’t take too long,’ he said.

The call follows Trump’s recent Truth Social post highlighting US energy dominance as tensions in the Middle East continue to threaten global supply chains.

A Pakistani source confirmed that Witkoff, Vance and Kushner had face-to-face meetings with Iranian officials Qalibaf and Araqchi, as well as the Pakistani military chief.

On Thursday, Trump criticized Tehran’s handling of the waterway, writing: ‘Iran is doing a very bad, and some would say dishonorable, job of allowing oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is not the agreement between us!’

Addressing reports in particular that Iran was trying to blackmail tankers, he warned: ‘There are reports that Iran is charging tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz — They better not be, and if they are, they better stop now!’

Trump ended his post with a show of energy independence, saying: ‘You’ll see the oil start flowing with or without Iran’s help, and to me it makes no difference either way.’

Tehran said that ‘the conflict must end once and for all’ and emphasized the need for ‘a protocol to end the conflicts in the region, safe passage in the Bosphorus, reconstruction and the removal of sanctions’.

Image of ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz after the two-week temporary ceasefire reached between the USA and Iran on the condition of reopening the strait

PAKISTAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS: The US delegation, including special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, was welcomed by Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishak Dar and Pakistani Chief of General Staff Asim Munir when they arrived in Islamabad, Pakistan.

Iran claimed that the US had agreed to release billions of dollars of frozen assets, but the administration quickly rejected such a move due to J.D. Vance conducting these high-stakes peace talks in Islamabad.

A senior Iranian source said the US had agreed to the release of funds held in Qatar and other foreign banks, describing it as a sign of Washington’s ‘seriousness’ in the negotiations.

But a US official quickly rejected this claim, underscoring the deep distrust of the talks.

It was also said that the freezing of assets was directly linked to ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Iranian state media, Tehran has already outlined its ‘red lines’ for any deal, including guarantees on the Strait of Hormuz, payment of war reparations, release of blocked assets and a ceasefire in the wider region.