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A Looming Deadline

We look at the options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as President Trump escalates his threats. As I write this, President Trump’s ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is set to...

NYTIMES 입력 2026.04.06 06:08 0

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The World

A Looming Deadline

We look at the options for reopening the Strait of Hormuz as President Trump escalates his threats.

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Katrin Bennhold

I’m the host of The World.

April 5, 2026,

5:07 p.m. ET

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As I write this, President Trump’s ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is set to expire on Tuesday. And his threats are escalating.

Just after announcing the rescue of an American airman whose plane was downed by Iran, Trump said in an expletive-laced social media post that he’d bomb the country’s power plants and that Iran’s leaders would be “living in Hell.” He told a journalist that if Iran didn’t make a deal “I am blowing up everything.”

My colleague Jim Tankersley has been looking at European efforts to find ways to reopen the strait after the fighting stops, whenever that day comes. Military planners from around the world will be meeting in Britain this week to explore that question, and Oman says it has been talking to Iran, too. But as Jim explains, none of the available options, even for those inclined to intervene, look promising.

Image

An oil tanker anchored in Muscat, Oman, near the Strait of Hormuz this week.

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Elke Scholiers/Getty Images

Four options and zero guarantees

by Jim Tankersley

European leaders say they are eager to find a way to ensure safe passage for oil tankers and other cargo ships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran’s scattered attacks have effectively throttled traffic.

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