US President Donald Trump described Syria's move to present itself as a potential alternative to the Strait of Hormuz as great, in a comment he published on his Truth Social platform on Thursday, September 3, 2026, in response to an analytical report published by The Washington Post.
Details of the report
According to what the report covered, Damascus, under its new president Ahmed al-Sharaa, is seeking to present itself as a relatively stable overland corridor for transporting energy and goods, which would allow some oil trade routes to bypass reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. This orientation comes at a time when shipping traffic through the strait is witnessing notable disruption because of continuing regional tensions.
According to the available data, trucks have already begun transporting oil between refineries in southern Iraq and the Syrian port of Baniyas, in an attempt by Iraqi exporters to get around the bottleneck at the strait. The Trump administration also announced last July its support for a new pipeline project led by the Chevron company, with a capacity of up to two million barrels of oil per day, a step that strengthens Syria's chances of becoming a strategic transit point.
