‘Numerous countries on the way’ to Hormuz: Trump claims Iran is reduced to ‘paper tiger’

The US President Donald Trump on Monday (March 16) claimed Iran "has been largely obliterated, air force is gone, navy is gone, many many ships sunk, anti-aircrafts decimated, and the leader is gone". He asserted that the Islamic Republic has been reduced to a "paper tiger" after two weeks of joint US-Israeli military operations in the country.

"We have struck 7,000 targets in Iran, we have achieved a 90 per cent reduction in missile attacks, 95 per cent of drone attacks, and it's getting hard for Tehran to manufacture drones," he said, speaking to a reporter at the White House.

Trump declared that the US military attacked Kharg Island and "knocked out all parts" but left the oil pipes, which can be hit in five minutes and are just a call away.

On the Strait of Hormuz, the US president said, “We are hammering their capacity to threaten commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz with more than 30 mine-laying ships destroyed. We hit, to the best of our knowledge, all of their mine-laying ships. Now they can put them on other types of ships."

Trump argued that the US gets less than one per cent of its oil through the strait as it has become the largest oil-producing country, and renewed his appeal for other countries to support the US in reopening the waterway.

He further claimed that "numerous countries have told me they are on the way" to assist the United States in the Strait of Hormuz, adding that "countries should be happily helping us as Washington has been helping several countries for nearly forty years".

Also Read: 'Strait of Hormuz only closed for...': Araghchi says Iran ready to take war as far as necessary

The US president made these statements as he came under intense domestic and international pressure from the energy crisis and the sharp rise in oil prices triggered by Iran's effective blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, which accounts for the shipping of nearly 20 per cent of global oil supply.

The war, sparked by joint US-Israeli strikes on February 28, has entered its 17th day with no sign of either side ready to back down. On the opening day of the military campaign, US-Israeli forces targeted the top leadership of the Islamic Republic, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a decapitation strike on a high-security compound in Tehran.

In retaliation, Tehran resorted to launching missile and drone strikes on strategic locations, including US military bases in Gulf nations and key energy and financial centres in these countries, along with closing the Strait of Hormuz to put pressure on Washington.

(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)