Trump keeps military escalation against Iran open, claims US has full control of Hormuz

Washington: US President Donald Trump kept open the possibility of a major military escalation against Iran, rejected Tehran’s demand for compensation and asserted that the US Navy had complete control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Asked what would follow the latest round of talks with Iran, Trump twice told reporters: “You’ll find out.”

A reporter asked whether a massive escalation remained on the table.

“Well we have that — certainly that ability if we want to do that, yeah. You’ll find out,” Trump said during an interaction with the media at the White House.

Trump said Iran had sought money for damage caused by the United States. He responded by arguing that Tehran should compensate the victims of its actions over the past five decades.

“They asked for, uh, reparations, you might say, or they asked for money for the damage that we’ve done,” Trump said.

“I said, that’s a good idea. Well, we’re going to ask for money for the damage they’ve done over a 50 year period,” he added.

Trump referred to people allegedly killed or wounded by Iran and the families of protesters he said had been killed during unrest in the country.

“We think they — their family should get damages for killing their person or their child or mother or father that were protesting,” he said.

“If there’s damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages,” Trump added.

The president did not provide details about the status of the talks or explain what military steps were under consideration.

Trump also said the Strait of Hormuz was open, but claimed the US Navy controlled passage through the strategically important waterway.

“The only one that has control of the Strait of Hormuz right now is the United States Navy,” he said.

“We have a blockade that’s been infallible. It’s a steel wall and we let people in that we want to let in and those people come in and they’re going out,” Trump said.

The president said vessels were being permitted to use the strait but were not allowed to travel to Iran.

“So it’s actually open now. We do not let them go into Iran. They’re not admitted into the strait to go to Iran. But it’s open for others,” he said.

Trump said Iran could still disrupt maritime traffic by placing mines in the waterway. He said American forces had conducted mine-sweeping operations.

“We’ve mine swept the entire strait,” Trump said. “We control the strait 100 percent.”

Trump claimed Iran was financially exhausted, was struggling to pay its soldiers and was experiencing inflation exceeding 300 per cent. The transcript provided no independent confirmation of those claims.

“They’re broke, they have no money,” Trump said. “Iran is broke, totally broke.”

He accused Tehran of destabilising the Middle East for five decades and causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries.

“They’ve been the bully of the Middle East,” Trump said. “And now they’re paying a price.”

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is a critical passage for international energy shipments. Any sustained military disruption in the waterway can affect oil supplies and shipping costs worldwide.

Trump also briefly addressed Israel, saying he had posted his response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s rejection of a proposed Hamas agreement on Truth Social. “The relationship is very good,” he said.

IANS