Donald Trump, in another ultimatum toIran, has said that it’s only a matter of three days before their oil pipelines naturally "explode from within." Reaffirming that time is running out for the Iranians to make a deal, Trump, in a conversation with Fox News, claimed that the backup of oil created as a result of the US naval blockade will cause catastrophic mechanical stress to Iran that will lead to spontaneous explosions "in the earth" and within the transport lines if the flow is not restored.
In the interview with Fox News, Trump said that when you have lines of a vast amount of oil pouring through the systems and if they are closed because you cannot continue to put them into containers and ships, which has happened to them due to theUS blockade, what happens is that the lines explode from within, both mechanically and in the earth.
"They say that they have only three days before this happens and when it explodes, they can never rebuild it, the way it was. It will only be about 50 per cent of what it is right now. So it’s a powerful thing that takes place. A very bad thing is going to happen to them, so I think they are under pressure," the US President added.
However, energy analysts and engineers generally disagree. They say that pipelines have safety valves and sensors designed to shut down pumping long before pressure reaches explosive levels. If oil cannot move, operators typically stop production at the source.
Some analysts believe that Iran has 2-3 months of inland storage before it will need to drastically cut production.
Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire that US and Iran agreed to on April 7 that has largely halted the fighting that began with joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28. But a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people and shaken the global economy.
A standoff remains at the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global waterway, as Iran restricts movement through it and the US enforces a blockade of Iranian ports.
Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows in peacetime, according to a regional official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter. Oman’s response wasn’t immediately clear.
The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insists on ending the US blockade before a new round of talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.
Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
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