A second Turkish-flagged ship has crossed the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, Türkiye’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on April 4.
Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global waterway, since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran started on Feb. 28 set off the Middle East conflict and sent global oil and gas prices soaring.
Uraloğlu said that on Feb. 28 there were 15 ships belonging to Turkish shipowners waiting to go through the strategic strait. The war has spread conflict throughout the Middle East and convulsed the global economy.
"Two of these 15 made the crossing," he told the private CNN Türk channel. "This is explained by our initiatives and also by the fact that they were using Iranian ports or carrying goods coming from or bound for Iran.”
Uraloğlu did not say when the second ship crossed the strait. The first vessel had passed through, with Iranian permission, on March 13.
The two ships are the Rozana and Neraki, according to CNN Türk.
The minister said only nine of the blocked ships had sought permission to pass through the strait and that the transport and foreign ministries was trying to help them.
"Four of them have not requested to leave. Two of them are power-generation vessels and are stationed on site. The other two are waiting for the situation to calm down," he added.
The devemopment came as Iran announced that it will allow Iraqi shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump renewed threats against Iran.
"Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT," Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social, referring to an ultimatum issued on March 26.
"Time is running out, 48 hours before all Hell will reign [sic] down on them."
Iran's central military command rejected the ultimatum, with General Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi saying Trump's threat was a "helpless, nervous, unbalanced and stupid action.”
Echoing Trump's language, he warned that "the gates of hell will open for you.”
