US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) said the ongoing Iran conflict could end ‘pretty soon ‘, claiming the Islamic Republic lacks the capacity to continue for much longer. He also sounded hopeful about negotiations over the Strait of Hormuz and repeated his pledge to block Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Why did Trump say the Iran war could end ‘pretty soon’?
Talking to reporters at the Oval Office, US President Trump stated the US intervention in Iran was aimed at preventing the country from acquiring nuclear weapons, arguing that such a development would have posed a grave threat to global security. “When I started the very important excursion into the Islamic Republic of Iran, it was a very important excursion because they can’t have a nuclear weapon, otherwise the whole world would get blown up. We’re not gonna let that happen. Not only us, not only the Middle East, the whole world would have been… It would have been catastrophic. We had no choice… We will see those days pretty soon again, based on everything I see, as soon as the war ends. And I think the war’s got to end pretty soon. I don’t think they can go much longer,” Trump said. He even expressed optimism about negotiations concerning the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical maritime trade routes for oil shipments.
What did Trump say about the ongoing Strait of Hormuz negotiations?
Talking on the prospects of a potential agreement between the United States and Iran, Trump said, “I don’t want to say it has been… it’s sort of open right now. We have a thing called the blockade headed up by the US Navy, and we control it. But they can always shoot something or drop a mine… if you have one mine sitting out there, you sort of mess things up because people don’t want to take their billion-dollar boats and accidentally get hit by a mine. But I think we’re doing very well. I am involved in the negotiations. I think we are doing fine… it could be soon.”
Why is the Strait of Hormuz strategically important to global trade?
Meanwhile, Iran’s Acting Defense Minister Brigadier General Seyed Majid Ibn Reza on Wednesday expressed regarding Iran’s defense capabilities, stating that they are ready to “spare no effort” in delivering a “crushing and definitive response” about any threat against their nation. “Every day, the signs of the enemy’s declining capabilities become more evident. But our armed forces, backed by the country’s defense industry, have everything they need to respond to any threat,” Brigadier General Ibn Reza said, as reported by Fars news agency.
President Trump’s remarks come amid continued uncertainty over renewed US-Iran diplomacy following the collapse of the 14-point Memorandum of Understanding signed in June to halt hostilities. A Memorandum of Understanding on opening the Strait, where shipping was disrupted after the bombing of Iran, was signed by Trump and Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian on June 17, but unravelled within weeks after Iran attacked ships in the Strait and the US blockaded Iranian ports.
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