Ships transit the Panama Canal in Panama City, Panama, 28 April 2026. The canal is handling up to 41 daily transits, above the usual 36, thanks to high water levels in the artificial lakes that feed it. Despite increased demand linked to the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway is operating at full capacity without congestion, according to canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez. EPA/Carlos Lemos The United States is pushing for other countries to help restore freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a State Department cable seen by Reuters, as oil prices surged to their highest in more than four years on fears of longer-term disruptions to global fuel supplies.
"We have received the U.S. proposal to join the Hormuz Strait navigation restoration coalition, and I intend to shortly present this proposal to the State Defence Council," the president told a news conference in Vilnius on Thursday.
"We would need a mandate from parliament," he added.
(Reporting by Andrius Sytas, writing by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik)