Trump Discusses Sustaining Iran Blockade for Months as Oil Prices Surge

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON/DUBAI/ISLAMABAD, April 29 (Reuters) – Donald Trump discussed how to mitigate the impact of a possible months-long U.S. blockade of Iran’s ports with oil companies, a White House official said on Wednesday, as the U.S. president urged Tehran to “get smart soon” and sign a deal.

Tuesday’s talks with oil executives followed a deadlock in efforts to resolve the conflict, which has led the United States to try to squeeze Iran’s oil exports with a naval blockade aimed at forcing it to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.

While Washington and Tehran traded public threats, mediator Pakistan was trying to avoid