US president urges Americans to accept slightly higher gas prices for the ‘great service’ of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear bomb, dismisses concerns about conditions aboard aircraft carrier.
US President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States will hit Iran hard economically, as Washington and Tehran struggle to reach a deal to end a nearly six month conflict. His comments to Fox News came a day after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US was going to apply measures that have “never been seen” on Tehran as soon as next week. The US leader also said he would “soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz to be US territory.
“Pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. It’s true,” he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state. It was unclear whether he was speaking seriously. Responding to Trump, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran would not be intimidated by threats or a show of force, adding that Hormuz would only be opened or closed under Iran’s authority.
“As long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Gharibabadi write in a post on X, showing little urgency toward restoring prewar trade. “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech.”Transit through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more ships were attacked there and the United States declared it could maintain the naval blockade of Iran indefinitely, with two the countries still locked in a stalemate over control of the key water and the Tehran’s nuclear program. (Read More)
