Trump says Iran has no clear leader

Washington, Sep 1 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has said Iran does not appear to have a clear leader after renewed American military action, claiming that the country’s armed forces have been reduced to a fraction of their previous strength.

Trump made the remarks at the White House after he was asked who was running Iran following the suspension of negotiations and the latest round of strikes.

“They don’t really know. In my opinion, they don’t know who the leader is,” Trump said. “You have the radicals, but they’ve been wiped out from the standpoint of the military, because their military is just a fraction of what it was.”

Trump did not identify any individual or group that Washington believes may now be exercising authority in Tehran. He also did not provide evidence supporting his assessment of Iran’s political leadership.

The President described Iran as a “failed nation” facing severe economic and military pressure.

“They’ve got 350 per cent inflation, they have no currency, they’re not paying their soldiers, their leaders are largely dead, their navy is gone, their air force is gone, their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone,” Trump said.

Asked whether the resumption of strikes represented a limited campaign or a return to full-scale war, Trump did not directly define the scope or duration of the military operation.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t smack ’em; we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Trump said the United States had secured the Strait of Hormuz and was helping commercial vessels navigate the strategically important waterway.

“But we have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. You know, we’re taking over,” he said. “Many, many ships got through last night, as you know, with the Navy’s assistance.”

The President said an average of 30 ships had been passing through the strait each night. He linked the movement of oil tankers through the waterway to the absence of a sharper increase in international oil prices.

“And we’ve been averaging 30 ships a night, that’s a lot, and a lot of oil is coming out,” Trump said. “That’s why you haven’t seen the price of oil go like they thought it might have to go.”

Trump presented preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon as the central objective of the US campaign.

“Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. See, that’s what it’s all about. It’s not about any of the other things,” he said.

“We as a country and, as for the world, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump added.

Trump said a nuclear-armed Iran would pose a direct threat to Israel, the broader Middle East and, eventually, American cities.

“If Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel would have been wiped out,” he said. “You would have no Israel right now, and you’d probably have no Middle East.”

–IANS

lkj/rs