Trump states that the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened 'soon' as discussions between the US and Iran are set to commence.

Trump asserts that Washington will not tolerate Iran's establishment of a de facto toll booth system in the vital waterway.

"It will not be a simple task," Trump informed reporters on Friday prior to the peace negotiations involving US and Iranian representatives in Pakistan. "I would assert this: We will have that open quite soon," he further stated. Trump did not provide further details on how the US would facilitate the unblocking of this critically significant chokepoint. He cautioned that he would not tolerate Iran's effective establishment of a tollbooth system for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has signaled its intention to impose fees on vessel owners for safe passage, even if a deal is reached to conclude the conflict. "If they proceed with that, we will not allow it to occur," Trump remarked to reporters before boarding Air Force One in Maryland. Trump emphasized that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons would be the foremost priority in any peace accord, asserting that the strait would open "automatically". "No nuclear weapons, that constitutes 99 percent of the issue," Trump stated.

Despite the announcement of a two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran on Tuesday, shipping in the strait effectively remains at a standstill, disrupting energy exports from the Gulf.

Shipping tracking data shows that since the start of the ceasefire, just 22 ships with their automatic identification system turned on have exited the strait. That’s compared with about 135 daily transits before the war.More than 600 vessels, including 325 tankers, remain stranded in the Gulf, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

The situation in the strait is “fundamentally unchanged” from how it was before the ceasefire, said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst at Kpler.

“Iran is essentially the gatekeeper, letting its own tankers through, letting some allies or friendlies send through products for humanitarian reasons,” Smith told Al Jazeera.

“And then there is a final subset which may be either brave or have approval from Iran to pass through.”

Smith said it is unclear whether vessel owners have been paying tolls to Iran.

“All we do know is that there is a new shipping route to exit the Strait of Hormuz – a ‘safe corridor’ that Iran is governing and vessels are using,” he said.

The US vice president JD Vance has landed in Pakistan for talks with Iranian negotiators  aimed at securing a permanent end to the war.