HIBAPRESS
U.S. President Donald Trump announced today, Sunday, that the U.S. Navy will begin imposing a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz "with immediate effect," through an operation to stop all ships trying to enter or leave it.
Trump wrote in a post on his account on the "Truth Social" website: "From now on, the U.S. Navy will begin the process of stopping all ships trying to enter or leave the Strait of Hormuz." He added: "The closure will begin soon. Other countries will participate in this closure." He revealed that he had also ordered U.S. Navy forces to search for every ship in international waters that paid a fee to Iran in exchange for passage through the Strait of Hormuz to detain it, where he wrote: "I have also ordered our navy to search for every ship in international waters that has paid Iran (in exchange for passage through the Strait of Hormuz) and intercept it. No ship that has paid these illegal fees will be allowed safe passage on the high seas." The U.S. President added: "We will also begin destroying the mines that the Iranians have placed in the strait." He warned, saying: "Any Iranian who fires on us or on peaceful ships will be killed," according to his expression. Trump also considered that the discussions with Iran "were good" and "most points were agreed upon" during them, but Tehran refused to make concessions regarding its program. He wrote: "The meeting went well, and most issues were agreed upon, but the only really important issue, the nuclear issue, remained unresolved." He added that the negotiations lasted about 20 hours, and that the agreements reached there were "better than continuing the military operation," but these results are not important because of Iran's nuclear ambitions. Trump stressed that the United States is ready to "eliminate" Iran at the appropriate moment, after no agreement was reached in the talks that took place in Pakistan. In later statements to the "Fox News" channel, Trump said today: "We will close the Strait of Hormuz, and it will take some time," explaining that "clearing the strait will not take long… We will bring more conventional mine sweepers, and we expect Britain and other countries to send mine sweepers as well." He revealed that NATO "now wants to help with the Strait of Hormuz," adding: "We believe that many countries will help us with that." The U.S. President also considered that "the talks with Iran were very friendly until the end." He believed that his post on "Truth Social" about "erasing Iranian civilization" is what brought the Iranians to the negotiating table, adding that "the Iranians did not leave the negotiating table, and I expect them to return and give us everything we want." He also renewed the threat to Iran by destroying energy infrastructure unless an agreement is reached. The U.S. President had repeated, yesterday, Saturday, what the U.S. military announced regarding the passage of two warships, Saturday, through the Strait of Hormuz to begin clearing it of Iranian mines, despite Tehran's denial. Trump told reporters: "We have mine sweepers there. We are clearing the strait." He added: "We will open the strait even though we do not use it, because there are many other countries in the world that use it and are either afraid, weak or stingy." He again expressed his frustration with NATO allies who remained neutral during the war, saying "NATO did not help us, that's what I can tell you." The U.S. President also confirmed that he is not interested in the outcome of the U.S.-Iranian talks in Pakistan, considering that the United States has emerged victorious from the war. Trump stated, "Whether we reach an agreement or not, it makes no difference to me, and the reason is that we have won." He added: "We are in very deep negotiations with Iran. We will win regardless of them. We have defeated them militarily." The U.S. President's statements came while his deputy, J.D. Vance, was leading his country's negotiating delegation in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.
