Washington, July 13 (IANS) US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the United States would take control of the Strait of Hormuz and could permanently oversee its security after accusing Iran of breaking a military agreement and continuing to send drones into the strategic waterway.
“We’re taking over the Strait. They have nothing. They’ve got nothing,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News.
Trump said the US had struck Iranian military assets overnight and would continue to respond forcefully to any new drone activity.
“We hit them very hard last night. Every time they send a drone, we hit them very hard,” he said.
“Most of their equipment is gone. Their anti-aircraft gun, we hit them very hard last night,” Trump added.
The president said Washington and Tehran had reached what he described as a completed agreement before Iran sought changes after lengthy negotiations.
“But we had a deal. What nobody knows, we had a deal. It was a done deal. And then they broke it,” Trump said.
He said Iranian negotiators had held an 11-hour meeting and initially agreed to everything under discussion. But they later called back seeking revisions.
“I said, changes? They got to make changes? We’re not going to make changes. Always changes,” Trump said. “You know, they’re professional negotiators. That’s all they are. I don’t even call them good at it.”
Trump said the United States would now keep control of the Strait and could assume a permanent role in safeguarding the vital shipping passage.
“They always break it. We’ve had 10 deals with these people, and so we’re just going to hit them very hard. And we’re going to keep the Strait, and we’ll probably run it,” he said.
“We’ll become the guardian of the Strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the Strait,” Trump said.
The president also said other countries benefiting from secure passage through the Strait should reimburse the United States for protecting it.
“And we should be reimbursed for that. When we do that, we’re going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy,” he said.
Trump argued that the United States had guarded the waterway for decades without receiving payment. He said Washington should no longer be expected to shoulder the cost alone.
“Now we’re going to guard it, and we’re going to get paid for guarding it,” he said. “It’s a lot of money. But we just want to be reimbursed for doing all of this, for putting our people in danger.”
The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying oil and liquefied natural gas exports from major Gulf producers to international markets, including India and other Asian economies.
–IANS
lkj/ksk/as