US President Donald Trump on Monday repeated his call to nations to help unblock the Strait of Hormuz, and complained that some were not very enthusiastic about providing help to Washington.
Trump wants nations to help police the strait after Iran responded to U.S.-Israeli attacks by using drones, missiles and mines to effectively close the channel for tankers that usually transport a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
"Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't. Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic. And the level of enthusiasm matters to me," Trump said at an event at the White House.
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US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at a White House event
(Photo: Annabelle Gordon / AFP)
He also said some nations did say they would be willing to help but Trump did not utter the names of any countries.
When asked if he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about it he said: "Yes, I have spoken to him. On a scale of zero to ten, I would say he is about an eight. Not perfect, but that is France." Trump said he believed France would help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. He expressed disappointment with Britain and its Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying: "I was very surprised by the United Kingdom, because two weeks ago I said to them, 'Why don't you send some ships?' and they really didn't want to do it."
Trump said that "since the beginning of the conflict, we have attacked more than 7,000 targets across Iran, most of which were commercial and military targets." He said, "We have achieved a 90% reduction in their ballistic missile launches and a 95% reduction in drone attacks. The missiles are now coming in in a trickle and at very low levels because they don't have many missiles left. We have also attacked the manufacturing plants, the places where they make the missiles and the drones, and that continues today. Today we hit three of them."
"We're hitting them very hard and today is a big day where we're bombing a certain area that's very connected to the Strait, and I think we'll get it back up and running very quickly. In addition, there are other countries that are coming into the picture. We need people to watch and people to see. There are other countries that are joining in," he said.
Trump asserted that Iran "wants to make a deal" and that "they are talking to our people." Still, he added "I don't know if they are ready yet."
H said that it is not clear who is speaking for Iran. "We don't know their leaders," he said.
Trump was asked about the condition of Mojtaba Khameini, Iran's new supreme leader and the son of the assassinated leader. He said that some have said that the new supreme leaders has been hurt and others that he is dead.
He said it would be hard for the opposition to take power since they "don't have guns," adding: "They may be brave but they're not stupid."
'Israel will never use nuclear weapons'
When asked if he had received intelligence assessments that Israel would use nuclear weapons on Iran, he replied: "Israel will never use its nuclear weapons on Iran."
He said Tehran's only "advantage" right now is its artificial intelligence capabilities: "They showed buildings in Tel Aviv catching fire and burning to the ground, skyscrapers burning. They showed buildings in Qatar. They showed buildings in Saudi Arabia burning, but they didn't burn. They weren't hurt. It was all artificial intelligence. The worst kind of artificial intelligence. It's terrible. And that's the only thing, the only thing, I think that's the only thing they have."
First published: 19:37, 03.16.26