Iran responds to ‘lying’ Trump after he declares war is ‘nearly over’ | US | News

Ten days into a war he is already calling a “short-term excursion,” Donald Trump stood before cameras in Doral, Florida on Monday and told the world the fighting would be over “very soon” — before immediately threatening to escalate it if Iran kept its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The contradiction sat at the heart of a wide-ranging appearance in which Trump claimed 5,000 targets had been hit since the first bombs fell on February 28, boasted that Iran’s missile stocks had been ground down to “about 10 percent, maybe less,” and announced that drone factories were now being picked off one by one. “Starting today, we know all of the places they manufacture drones, and they’re being hit one after the another,” he said.

But the oil chokepoint remained his sharpest focus. With Brent crude having touched $119 a barrel, Trump was unequivocal about the consequences of Iran maintaining its blockade. “I will not allow a terrorist regime to hold the world hostage and attempt to stop the globe’s oil supply. And if Iran does anything to do that, they’ll get hit at a much, much harder level,” he said.

Washington was now offering “political risk insurance” to tankers in the Gulf, he added, and US vessels would escort commercial shipping through the strait if needed.

In response Iran issued the following statement through the state-rin Fars News Agency, “Decisive Response by IRGC Spokesperson to Trump’s Ravings: The lying President of America, in order to escape the pressure of war and put an end to the desperation of American military forces in the region, has falsely claimed the end of the power of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s armed forces.”

Putin and the new leader

Monday witnessed a mystery phone call with Russia‘s Vladimir Putin covering both Ukraine and the Middle East. Trump told reporters at the press conference the Russian president had expressed a desire “to be helpful” on Iran — a claim Trump batted back with characteristic directness. “I said, ‘You could be more helpful by getting the Ukraine war over with. That will be more helpful.’ But we had a very good talk,” he said.

On the question of Mojtaba Khamenei, Trump insisted the two men are firmly in opposing corners. Putin sent his congratulations to the new supreme leader on Monday and restated Moscow’s commitment to Tehran. Trump’s reaction was the opposite — he said the appointment left him “disappointed” and predicted it would bring “just more of the same problem for the country.” When pressed on whether Israel‘s assassination threat against the new leader extended to Washington’s thinking, Trump called it “inappropriate” to comment.

Trump returned once more to the argument that the entire operation had been necessary to prevent something far worse. Without the joint offensive to dismantle Iran’s nuclear programme, he said, the bomb would already exist — and had already been used. “They would’ve used it long before now, and at a minimum, Israel would have been annihilated,” he said.

We haven’t won enough’

Hours before the press conference, Trump had addressed a Republican gathering at his Doral golf club in terms that stripped the conflict of any solemnity according to the BBC. “We took a little excursion because we felt we had to do that to get rid of some people,” he told the room — then acknowledged the job was not finished.

“We’ve already won in many ways, but we haven’t won enough,” he said, vowing to push on “until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated.”

His remarks landed against the backdrop of a loyalty rally inside Iran, where the Express reported how hardliners turned out to demonstrate their allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei — the slain Ayatollah’s son, confirmed as the new Supreme Leader on Sunday as US and Israeli strikes continued to pound nuclear sites, civilian infrastructure, oil refineries and a desalination plant.