US President Donald Trump has claimed that America is “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, and will act as the “guardian angel” of the key waterway “and get paid for it.” Tehran has earlier declared the strait closed, blaming “hostile actions” by US forces.

Speaking by phone to ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday, Trump said Iran was getting its “ass kicked” in the war against the US, asserting that the country’s navy, air force and missile capabilities had been “virtually annihilated” and listing senior Iranian leaders he said had been killed. 

He added that US troops were continuing to carry out strikes against Iranian targets after he declared a ceasefire with Tehran to be “over” this past weekend.

“We’re taking over the strait. They’ve got nothing,” Trump said, arguing that Washington should have dealt with what he called the Iran threat “47 years ago.” He accused successive US presidents of having been “tapped along” by Tehran without taking decisive action.

Control of the Strait of Hormuz – a vital route for global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments – has emerged as a major flashpoint in the Middle East conflict, which was triggered by a surprise joint US Israeli attack on Iran on February 28 which cost the life of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several members of his immediate family.

Tehran has formally declared the strait closed, blaming “hostile actions” by US forces in a post on X on Monday by Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which said passage would only resume once “stability and calm” are restored.

Regular exchanges of strikes stopped after a ceasefire in April, which led to the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on June 17. Hostilities have since resumed as the sides clashed over the interpretation of the MoU and the status of the strait. The US continued striking targets in Iran early on Monday, marking the fourth consecutive night of bombardment. Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at US military sites in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.

We’ve had ten deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” Trump claimed, adding that the US is going to “guard” Hormuz and going to get paid “a lot of money.” 

Under the MoU, Iran pledged to use “its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels with no charge”during the 60 day period and to negotiate with Oman over “the future administration and maritime services” in the strait. Tehran has maintained that it has the right to regulate traffic, collect tolls and require ships to use a designated route. 

Washington has demanded that Iran declare the strait fully open and has been guiding vessels along a route closer to the Omani coast, which Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has denounced as “illegal.”

https://www.rt.com/news/642947-trump-iran-hormuz-escalation/

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