Donald Trump announced he will permanently open the Strait of Hormuz and claimed China backs the move. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, April 15, 2026, the US president said China welcomes the decision.

“China is very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz. I am doing it for them, also – And the World. This situation will never happen again,” he wrote.

He added that China agreed not to send weapons to Iran. Trump said President Xi Jinping will give him a “big, fat hug” when they meet in Beijing in a few weeks.

“We are working together smartly, and very well! Doesn’t that beat fighting???” he asked.

The comments followed the US blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports on Monday. US Central Command said it gained maritime superiority in the Middle East after peace talks with Iran collapsed in Islamabad over the weekend.

Trump said the Iran war stands “very close to being over”. Reports indicate the US is sending more troops to the region.

Iran said it will use alternative ports to bypass the blockade. The semi-official Mehr News agency carried the statement.

The Strait of Hormuz sits between Iran and Oman as a narrow chokepoint. It carries roughly one fifth of the world’s oil and a large share of liquefied natural gas. Tankers move crude from Gulf producers through the 40-kilometre-wide passage every day.

China energy security link

In the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, Iran attacked ships in the so-called Tanker War and threatened to close the strait. The US Navy clashed with Iran there in 1988. Iran has issued similar threats in later crises but never shut the waterway completely.

Some Gulf states built bypass pipelines, yet they handle only a fraction of the traffic.

China buys up to 90 per cent of Iran’s oil exports – about 1.4 million barrels a day in 2025. That flow makes up around 13 per cent of China’s total crude imports. Much of this oil, plus supplies from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, travels through the strait.

The reopening protects Beijing’s energy lifeline and explains why China supports Trump’s move.

China denied reports that it supplied weapons or helped Iran during the conflict. On Wednesday its foreign ministry rejected claims that Iran used a Chinese-built spy satellite, the TEE-01B, to target US bases.

The ministry called the story untrue and driven by “ulterior motives”. The Financial Times reported that Iran acquired the satellite in late 2024 and used it to monitor US military sites, according to leaked documents.

Trump’s announcement also covers his planned May meeting with Xi. The summit was delayed once by the Iran conflict but now goes ahead. Oil prices fell and some Asian stocks rose on hopes that peace talks might resume soon. However, the International Monetary Fund warned that a prolonged Iran war could trigger a global recession.

Trump insists the blockade forms part of a strategy to end the conflict quickly and restore normal shipping. He says the current situation will not repeat itself. The US and Iran remain far apart on key issues after the Islamabad talks broke down. Both sides have left the door open for further negotiations, but tensions stay high in the Gulf.