ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that the Strait of Hormuz “will soon be open,” as the American military announced it is preparing to clear the chokepoint of mines.

“The Strait of Hormuz will soon be open, and the empty ships are rushing to the United States to ‘load up,’” the American president said in a post on Truth Social, adding the US has “completely destroyed” Iran’s army, including its navy and air force.

Trump’s remarks come as a recently announced ceasefire between the two adversaries is tested, with various ambiguous clauses causing trouble between the two sides of the conflict.

Israel’s renewed attacks on Lebanon have served as point of disagreement between the US and Iran, as they have failed to see eye-to-eye on Lebanon’s involvement in the ceasefire agreement.

Delegations from the two countries met for a round of Pakistan-mediated talks earlier in the day in Islamabad.

Shortly after the US president’s words, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that its forces have begun “setting conditions” for clearing the vital waterway, as two guided-missile destroyers of the US Navy “conducted operations” on Saturday.

“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” CENTCOM quoted its commander Brad Cooper as saying in the statement.

“Additional US forces, including underwater drones, will join the clearance effort in the coming days,” the statement added.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that Tehran will bring the management of the Strait of Hormuz into a “new and serious phase” in his first public statement since the US-Iran truce.

Reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant proportion of the world's oil flows, has proved a key US objective after Iran severely limited access to the vital route during the conflict.