US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the United States now has “near-total control” of the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that he is not seeking to force Iran back to the negotiating table as the confrontation between the two countries continues to expand.
Trump rejected an ABC report that he was seeking to push Iran into negotiations, saying: “I am not trying to force Iran to sit at the negotiating table.” He added that he “doesn’t care at all” whether Iranians sign an agreement they consider worthless.
Trump said the United States prefers its current position, stating: “We have near-total control of the Strait of Hormuz,” while “the Iranian economy is completely collapsing.” He said Tehran was doing nothing more than “facing what is inevitable.”
Trump then asked: “When will the Iranian people rise up and join the fight?” in a direct call for Iranians to take action against the regime, as US military operations and pressure on Tehran continue.
Iranian military leadership, meanwhile, vowed to continue offensive operations against the United States “until they regret it,” warning that continued US actions in the region, which it described as “aggressive acts,” would be met with “stronger, broader and more destructive responses.”
The escalation comes as Axios, citing US officials, revealed new details about the latest US strikes. The officials said the US military attacked around 100 Iranian targets during Tuesday’s operation, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defense sites, radar systems, mine-laying capabilities, communications facilities, anti-ship cruise missile launchers and attack drone launchers.
According to the officials, the strikes were not limited to military facilities. US forces also attacked two tankers belonging to the Iranian government, in what Axios said was part of a new policy approved by Trump known as “tanker for tanker,” aimed at deterring Iranian attacks on oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Axios reported that the two tankers were anchored off the Iranian coast, north of the US maritime blockade line, and that US drones fired missiles that struck their engine rooms. It described the attacks on Iranian oil tankers as the first such strikes carried out by the US military in response to Iranian attacks on vessels in the strait.
Assessing the strikes, US officials said the attacks had weakened Iran’s offensive capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz and, in their assessment, reduced the threat facing commercial vessels for at least a month. Despite the escalation, around 40 vessels transited the strait in both directions on Tuesday, carrying millions of barrels of oil.
Meanwhile, Iran’s response extended to US bases and positions across the region. According to US officials cited by Axios, Iran launched around 25 ballistic missiles, with only half of them entering Jordanian airspace. Jordanian air defenses intercepted 10 missiles, while three others fell without causing injuries.
Iran also launched around 20 drones toward US bases in Bahrain, most of which were intercepted. Ballistic missiles and drones also targeted US bases in Kuwait. In Iraq, two drones were launched toward a US base in Erbil in the Kurdistan Region and were intercepted.
According to the US officials, American forces also intercepted several anti-ship cruise missiles and drones launched by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps toward vessels, none of which struck their targets.
Describing the outcome of the confrontation, Axios quoted a US official as saying that Iran had not only lost control of the Strait of Hormuz, but had “lost control of the conflict.”
The developments mark a broader phase in the confrontation, with attacks no longer confined to military positions but also affecting maritime traffic and oil supplies, as military operations coincide with growing US economic pressure on Tehran.
US Central Command, for its part, said American forces do not target civilians, adding that it was aware of reports published by Iranian state media regarding the results of the strikes.
Source: AFP
