Trump says US will claim Strait of Hormuz

Washington, Aug 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States after defeating Iran, making an extraordinary assertion over one of the world’s most strategically important energy corridors.

Trump offered no details about how the United States could claim the waterway or the legal basis for such a move. He made the remark during a speech on crime and law enforcement in Garden City, New York.

“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said.

The president used the speech to present a sweeping account of US military operations against Iran. He claimed that Iran’s navy and air force had been destroyed and that its senior leadership had been severely depleted.

“Nobody has any idea how successful we are. They don’t want to write it, but they know. You know who knows how well we’re doing, Iran. Iran knows,” Trump said.

“Think of it, they have no navy, it’s totally gone, 159 ships. They had a total of 159 ships. 159 ships are right now at the bottom of the sea,” he said.

Trump also claimed that Iran had lost all 212 of its aircraft. He did not provide evidence for the military figures cited during the address.

“They had 212 very nice airplanes, some bought from the United States brilliantly through Obama, Barack Hussein Obama,” he said. “And every one of their airplanes is shot down, it’s gone.”

The president said the loss of Iran’s leaders had created difficulties for any prospective negotiations.

“They have no leadership. Their leadership is gone. Their first tour is gone. Their second tour is gone. The third tour is half gone,” Trump said.

“That’s one of my problems, there’s nobody to negotiate with. It is a problem,” he added.

Trump said Iran retained some missiles and drones, but asserted that its capacity to produce them had been badly damaged. He also claimed that its radar and intelligence systems were gone.

Earlier in the speech, Trump defended the use of US military power against Iran as necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

“I built the military, and now I used it, a little bit more than I wanted to, frankly, but that’s OK, because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

–IANS

lkj/rs