‘Safer to sink, more fun’: Trump explains why US chose to sink Iranian vessels over capturing them

Amid the escalated military tensions in Iran, US President Donald Trump described why his forces chose to sink the Iranian naval vessels rather than capturing them. The American president said that his military personnel told him that destroying or sinking the vessels is more fun than capturing.

“He said, it’s more fun to sink him. They like sinking him better. They say it’s safer to sink him. I guess it’s probably true," Trump said. Speaking about his war in the Islamic Republic along with Israel, Trump said the operation was delivering a powerful blow to Tehran’s military infrastructure.

“Now everybody understands it. Together with our Israeli partners, we’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force," the American president said. He also said that Tehran's missile capabilities were being dismantled. “Iran’s drone and missile capability is being utterly demolished," Trump said.

He also said that Iranian naval forces had suffered heavy losses. “The Navy is gone. It’s all lying at the bottom of the ocean. Forty-six ships. Can you believe it?" he said. “In fact, I get a little upset with our people. I said, what quality of ship? ‘Excellent, sir. Top of the line’. I said, ‘Why did we just capture the ship? We’re going to use it. Why did we sink him?’," Trump said.

Trump's statement came after the US and Iran shared two different accounts on the sinking of the Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean last week. In a statement on X, the command called Iran’s assertion that the vessel was unarmed “false".

Iranian officials, however, have repeatedly insisted that the ship was operating in a non-combat role and was returning home after participating in a multinational naval exercise.