US President Donald Trump said he would consider lifting the US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz if it helps unlock peace talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistani officials told Reuters.
Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, a key mediator between Tehran and Washington, urged Trump to lift the blockade in a phone call on Sunday. Trump said he would “consider the recommendation,” having previously insisted the US would maintain the blockade until a permanent peace deal was secured.
The signal marks a qualitative shift. The US Navy launched the blockade on April 13 after Iran refused to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a move that has helped drive Brent crude back above $96 a barrel and squeezed Sri Lankan fuel import costs. The physical seizure of the Touska cargo ship escalated US enforcement from rhetoric to boarding.
The diplomatic opening came hours after Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Tehran would not send a delegation to Islamabad for a second round of talks. A senior Iranian official later told Reuters that no final decision had been made and that Tehran was still weighing participation, with mediators pressing Washington to end the blockade of Iranian ports.
Trump also told the New York Post he was willing to meet Iran’s senior leadership directly. “I have no problem meeting them,” he said, adding that Vice President JD Vance was en route to Pakistan for fresh talks. Trump said any deal would require Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons programme. “Get rid of their nuclear weapons. That’s all very simple. There will be no nuclear weapon.”
A blockade lift, if confirmed, would ease shipping insurance costs across the Gulf and likely reverse Monday’s oil price spike — a direct relief for Sri Lanka’s fuel supply chain.
