U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States and allied countries may deploy warships to ensure the Strait of Hormuz remains open, warning that U.S. forces would target Iranian vessels if necessary.
“Many countries will be sending warships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait of Hormuz open,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Iranian strike on oil tankers near Iraq
(Video: Reuters)
He said he hoped countries including China, France, Japan, South Korea and the United Kingdom would send ships to the region so that the strategic waterway “will no longer be a threat.”
Trump added that the United States would take military action if needed, saying the U.S. military would strike along the shoreline and target Iranian boats.
“One way or another, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait open,” he wrote.
In a separate post, Trump also addressed reports about a recent attack on a U.S. base in Saudi Arabia.
He said four of five U.S. Air Force refueling tanker planes targeted at Prince Sultan Air Base suffered “virtually no damage” and had already returned to service.
“Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service,” Trump wrote. “One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly.”
U.S. media reports, including The Wall Street Journal, said Iranian strikes damaged five U.S. tanker aircraft on the ground at the base earlier this week. The report said no one was killed and the planes were being repaired.
Trump criticized those reports, saying the aircraft were not “struck” or “destroyed.”
Separately, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps spokesperson said branches of U.S. banks in the Gulf were targeted in retaliation for attacks on Iranian banks, according to Iranian state media. Iranian officials have warned they could strike economic centers and banks linked to the United States and Israel in the region following reported attacks on Iranian financial institutions.