As tensions intensified in the Gulf following US attacks on Iranian fast boats in the Strait of Hormuz and Tehran’s reported retaliatory strikes on UAE and Saudi Arabia, US President on Tuesday said that Iran has no chance to compete against the United States Navy.
Speaking to reporters in the White House amid concerns over the US-Iran ceasefire after the recent exchange of attacks, Trump reiterated his claims that the Iranian Navy and Air Force have been completely destroyed by the US.
“Iran has no chance. They never did. They know it. They express it to me when I talk to them. Then they get on television, and they say how well they are doing. They have no Navy, totally wiped out. They have no Air Force, totally wiped out. They have no anti-aircraft capability… Their leaders are wiped out… I read the papers, and they say how well they are doing. They are not doing well…,” Trump said.
When reporters asked him what would constitute a breach of ceasefire, the US President added, “They know what to do, or what not to do more importantly.”
He, however, insisted that a diplomatic breakthrough in resolving the conflict is still possible, claiming that Iran wants to make a deal.
His remarks come two days after Trump announced Project Freedom, a manoeuvre that involves US Navy guiding stranded ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the project is aimed at protecting innocent commercial shipping from “Iranian aggression.”
He said that the project involving some 15,000 US military personnel is a temporary measure amid global energy crisis.
Hegseth further informed that the US forces have established a “red, white and blue dome” in the Strait of Hormuz. He claimed that the US Navy has safely escorted two vessels stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
According to the United States, as many as 22,500 mariners on board some 1,550 commercial vessels are currently trapped in the Gulf.
Meanwhile, IRIB, Iran’s state broadcaster, said that Tehran’s control over the strait had “intensified”. It further claimed that many domestic and foreign vessels were awaiting Iranian permission to pass.