U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed Syria’s growing role in replacing the Strait of Hormuz.

He, by reposting a Washington Post report about Syria’s efforts to become a hub for regional energy transit by taking advantage of the disrupted situation in the Strait of Hormuz due to attacks by the Islamic Republic, said, “Syria is trying to position itself as a substitute for the Strait of Hormuz.”

Over the past few months, the Syrian government has focused on restoring the Kirkuk–Baniyas pipeline for daily exports of 2 million barrels of Iraqi oil.

The Washington Post writes that even now, 5,000 trucks are transported every day via the overland route—carrying about one million barrels of Iraqi oil to the Syrian port of Baniyas—so that it can reach global markets.

Before the Islamic Republic disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, Iraq had 3.3 million barrels per day of oil exports, but according to data from Kpler, that figure fell below 100,000 barrels in May; however, from June onwards the trend turned upward and reached above 2 million barrels in the past month.