Washington DC [US], July 14 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Monday (local time) announced that American forces will reimpose a naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz targeting Iran, while allowing vessels from other nations to continue transiting through the strategic waterway.
Speaking to reporters after signing an Executive Order, Trump said the blockade would apply only to Iran and those doing business with Tehran.
‘We’re hitting them (Iran) very heavy tonight… We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. We’re hitting them very hard, and it’ll continue, and we’ll see what happens. We’re knocking out all of their offensive capability, and we’re controlling the strait (Strait of Hormuz). We’re putting the blockade back. 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… The blockade is probably more effective even than hitting them. But I think the combination is the thing that really does it,’ Trump said.
The US President claimed that American military operations have significantly degraded Iran’s military capabilities, including its navy, air force, missile and drone production.
‘We’ve been here for four months. I think we’ve done a lot. We’ve knocked out their navy in one month. We knocked out their air force, which is non-existent. We knocked out most of their missiles and drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability by about 92 per cent. Their missile manufacturing capability, we knocked out by 89 per cent. They have a little capability left, but they don’t have any capability against us. This is almost a military skirmish,’ he said.
Trump also said a potential agreement with Tehran collapsed after Iran sought to reopen negotiations.
‘We had a deal with them two days ago, and then they said, ‘Oh, we can’t make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.’ And this is what they’ve done for 47 years. The difference is nobody negotiated like I do… Frankly, for 47 years they’ve been ripping off everybody and really hurting people, killing thousands. They killed 52,000 protesters, but they also killed many, many people under Soleimani, whom I killed in the first term… We have to do what we’re doing,’ he said.
The US President further said military operations against Iran would continue.
‘We’re doing another very major attack tonight (on Iran). They want to make a deal. They came back. We made a deal two days ago… They’ve been negotiating for 47 years, but nobody’s ever hit them militarily. We’re hitting them very hard,’ Trump said.
He also alleged that Iran’s economy and military had been severely weakened.
‘Four months ago, they (Iran) had inflation of 5 per cent. Now they’re at over 350 per cent. They made a deal; they broke it probably 10 times, and they killed a lot of people. They killed our people,’ Trump said.
The latest development follows renewed hostilities between the US and Iran after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) closed the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered American retaliatory strikes on 140 locations across Iran.
Meanwhile, initiating a fresh wave of military operations, US Central Command (CENTCOM) began its third consecutive night of strikes against Iran at the direction of the Commander-in-Chief.
In a post on X, CENTCOM stated that these strikes aim to impose a high cost on Iranian forces and degrade their capability to target civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Concurrently, the United States announced that it will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports starting Tuesday evening.
In a formal statement, CENTCOM said its forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas, while continuing to support the safe flow of maritime traffic for ships that are not in violation of the order.
‘At the Commander in Chief’s direction, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports on July 14 at 4 p.m. ET,’ the statement read.
According to CENTCOM, the decision follows the initial implementation of the blockade between April 13 and June 18. During that two-month period, US forces redirected more than 140 compliant vessels, disabled nine non-compliant ships, and permitted over 50 commercial vessels carrying humanitarian aid to pass through.
CENTCOM advised all mariners operating in the Gulf of Oman and the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and establish contact with US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge Channel 16. The command added that further detailed guidance for commercial mariners will be issued through a formal notice.
Earlier on Sunday, President Trump stated that the United States is ‘reinstating’ the Iranian blockade and announced that the US will charge a 20 percent fee to provide security in the strategic shipping gateway. In his social media posts, Trump assured that international maritime traffic through the critical shipping lane would remain open to the rest of the world despite escalating regional tensions.
Trump defended the 20 per cent levy on transiting cargo, claiming it is a necessary measure to cover the operational expenses of securing the volatile shipping lane.
In response, Iran issued a stern warning against the US deployment, reaffirming its authority over the Strait of Hormuz and dismissing Washington’s intervention in its management.
According to Press TV, Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, affirmed that Tehran will not, ‘under any circumstances, allow the US to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.’
He further vowed strong retaliation against any US military action involving the passage of commercial vessels and oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz that takes place ‘outside Iran’s designated shipping route and without authorisation from Iran’s armed forces.’ (ANI)
