WASHINGTON DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) said the United States has successfully ensured the safe passage of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
He claimed that a secret military mission has facilitated the movement of over 100 million barrels of oil and more than 200 commercial vessels through the key maritime route.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Last month, I directed our Great U.S. Military to execute a secret mission to support Oil Tankers and other Commercial Ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
Today, I am pleased to announce that this effort has resulted in more than 100 MILLION Barrels of Oil making its way through the Strait, and into the Open Market.”
“More than 200 Commercial Ships have safely traveled through the Strait. This wildly successful effort is because the UNITED STATES of AMERICA CONTROLS the Strait of Hormuz — NOT Iran.
Their military is defeated, and their economy is lost. It’s over for Iran! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP” the post read.
Earlier, Trump said that the United States would resume attacks on Iran, as he voiced frustration over Tehran’s delays in concluding the deal with Washington.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said, “We’re going to be attacking them, attacking them very hard.”
Trump suggested that Iran’s downing of a US Apache helicopter provided grounds for renewed military action.
“Based on the helicopter, I guess we have the right to do that,” he told reporters.
Trump said the US had already launched strikes and would continue military operations against Iran. “We hit them hard yesterday. We’re going to hit them again hard today, in case you miss it, in case you don’t turn on your television set, and we’ll see what happens with the deal,” he said.
At the same time, Trump insisted that a deal with Iran had already been negotiated and only awaited Tehran’s approval. “All they have to do is they have to start signing a paper. It’s fully negotiated,” he said.
“We have a fully negotiated — but they’re tapping and tapping, and they say, ‘All right, let’s give them a couple of more days.’ They’re tapping because it’s a meaningful paper,” he added. (ANI)