Strait of Hormuz: is a Trump‑Iran joint venture really possible?

Name: US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire amid Pakistani mediation efforts
Uploaded: 2026-04-08T21:02:48.000Z
Duration: 1 min 31 s
Description: US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire amid Pakistani mediation efforts

With regime change increasingly out of reach, the US president may pivot towards a business deal with Tehran’s fractured leadership

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Oil tankers and cargo ships line up in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates last month. Photo: AP

Khushboo Razdan,Dewey Sim,Teresa Elena FrontadoandLucy Quaggin

Published: 5:02am, 9 Apr 2026Updated: 8:45pm, 9 Apr 2026

Corrected [8:42pm, 9 Apr, 2026]

[8:42pm, 9 Apr, 2026]
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that China receives 90 per cent of its oil via the Strait of Hormuz. In fact, the strait accounts for approximately 45–50 per cent of China’s oil imports.

Control of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the central fault line in US-Iran negotiations, with US President Donald Trump appearing to recast an earlier off-the-cuff idea into a more formal proposal that seeks to bridge Tehran’s push for dominance and Washington’s insistence on open passage.

Following his Tuesday announcement of a two-week ceasefire, Trump on Wednesday told the American Broadcasting Company that his administration may seek a “joint venture” with Iran to safeguard the global chokepoint, on which Tehran has maintained a tight grip since the conflict began on February 28.

“We’re thinking of doing it as a joint venture. It’s a way of securing it – also securing it from lots of other people,” he said, hailing the idea as a “beautiful thing”.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday responded to press queries on the issue, saying: “It’s an idea the president has floated, as you know, and it’s something that will continue to be discussed over the course of the next two weeks”.

When pressed on the issue of Iran charging a toll and reports that the narrow waterway remains closed despite the ceasefire agreement, she emphasised that the US had not yet “definitively” accepted the plan.

“The joint venture is something that was proposed by the president, but he was very clear in his statement last night, he wants to see the strait reopened immediately, without limitation,” Leavitt added.

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US and Iran agree to 2-week ceasefire amid Pakistani mediation efforts

Strait of Hormuz: is a Trump‑Iran joint venture really possible?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With regime change increasingly out of reach, the US president may pivot towards a business deal with Tehran’s fractured leadership

With regime change increasingly out of reach, the US president may pivot towards a business deal with Tehran’s fractured leadership