President Donald Trump has publicly urged commercial oil tanker operators to resume sailings through the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing mounting safety concerns as global crude prices surpassed $100 (approximately £77) per barrel for the first time in four years. The remarks, relayed by Fox News host Brian Kilmeade on 'Fox & Friends' on Monday, 9 March, came as tanker traffic through the critical waterway had ground to a near-complete halt following joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran's military installations under Operation Epic Fury.
Kilmeade recounted Trump's message directly, quoting the president as saying: 'These ships should go through the Strait of Hormuz and show some guts, there's nothing to be afraid of. [The Iranians] have no navy, we sunk all their ships.' Kilmeade added that Trump told him the region remained volatile but said Iran's ability to strike was severely diminished, with roughly 150 launchers remaining—approximately 20% of Iran's original capacity—and that Tehran could neither regenerate nor replace them quickly.
