Trump says US ‘essentially controlling’ strategic waterways linked to Iran

Washington: US President Donald Trump has said the United States is “essentially controlling” strategic waterways linked to Iran and will soon take full control of them, while reiterating that Tehran will never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

In an interview with former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, broadcast by 77 WABC Radio, Trump defended US military action against Iran and acknowledged that the conflict could push up petrol and energy costs for American consumers.

“Now with Iran, they will never have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, claiming that Iran’s navy, air force and leadership had been severely weakened.

Trump did not specify which waterways he was referring to. He said the loss of several Iranian leaders had also complicated prospects for negotiations as “nobody knows who’s leading”.

Defending US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, Trump said B-2 bombers had hit their targets when Iran was allegedly “two weeks away” from developing a nuclear weapon.

Trump also claimed Iran had lost much of its missile and drone production capacity and warned that several Middle Eastern countries could have faced attacks if Tehran acquired nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi rejected Trump’s latest economic threats, saying US pressure campaigns against Iran had repeatedly failed.

“Most crippling sanctions in history” and “maximum pressure” had failed, Araghchi said, arguing that the latest US economic campaign would meet the same fate.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also accused Washington of using “economic war” rhetoric to cover up what he described as the failure of its military campaign.

The latest exchange comes amid uncertainty over the future of US-Iran negotiations following a recent escalation in tensions.