Washington: US President Donald Trump stated on Monday that American forces are actively dismantling Iran's military capabilities related to the Strait of Hormuz and reinstating a blockade aimed at the nation.
According to Nam News Network, Trump emphasized that a diplomatic resolution with Tehran is still achievable despite the intensifying conflict. "We're attacking them tonight, and we're taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the Strait of Hormuz," Trump informed reporters at the White House. He accused Iran of reneging on a potential agreement after negotiations had shown signs of progress.
"They made a deal. They broke it - probably 10 times - and they killed a lot of people...They've been negotiating for 47 years, but nobody has ever hit them militarily. We're hitting them very hard," he added. When questioned about the possibility of reaching a deal with Iran, he affirmed: "Yeah, I think a deal is possible."
His statements coincided with the US conducting a third consecutive night of military strikes against Iran. The White House declared these operations are aimed at reducing Tehran's capability to threaten commercial shipping and regional security in the Strait of Hormuz.
The president asserted that the US is "knocking out all of" Iran's offensive capability and claimed control over the strait. "We're putting the blockade back, and it's a blockade not for anybody but Iran. In other words, anybody doing business with Iran can't go through. Everyone else will be able to go through. So it's a blockade, a very strong blockade. The blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them, but I think the combination is the thing that that really does," he mentioned.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi declared on Monday that Tehran will maintain its role as the "guardian" of the Strait of Hormuz following Trump's threat to impose fees on shipping in this strategic waterway.
Trump further stated that the US expects "to be reimbursed" for protecting countries "that we're helping" in the strait. "I want to be reimbursed because we're protecting a very rich portion of the world. We're spending money, and so what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection," he said, referencing Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
Addressing reports of Iranian drones in Cuba, Trump remarked, "if they do have that, and they might very well have that, we'll take care of it." He assured, "If they do have that, we'll take care of it in short order. We're not going to have a problem. We're not going to allow that to happen. So it could be that they're storing some. We're looking into it now. It could be so, and it maybe isn't, but we'll figure it out fast."