Thursday 12 / March / 2026
Washington DC: President Donald Trump on Wednesday asserted that oil companies should use the Strait of Hormuz, which has been closed due to the ongoing conflict backed by the US between Iran and Israel.
He said that Iran was paying a big price for inflicting 47 years' worth of damage to the world.
"We have hit them harder than virtually any country in history has been hit, and we're not finished yet. They've inflicted 47 years' worth of damage to the world, and now they're paying a big price," he said.
Trump said that none of the countries has seen an operation like the one the US is doing in Iran.
"I just spoke with the leaders of various countries, and they said they've never seen anything like it. I built it during my first term, and I didn't realise I was going to use it this much, but we have the greatest military in the world by far -- nobody close. I think oil companies should use the Strait of Hormuz. We took out just about all of their mine ships in one night... just about all of their navy is gone. We're doing something that nobody ever thought was possible to do. Our military is the best, it's the most powerful in the world, and they're hitting them very hard. This is 47 years of abuse -- and killing lots of people," he said.
US CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper on Wednesday said the US is eliminating Iran's military abilities.
He said, "We are on a path to eliminating Iran's ability to threaten Americans and our friends, and we are achieving this through a combination of lethality, precision, and rapid innovation."
In response to a reporter asking about the strike on a school in southern Iran that killed 175 people, most of them children, Trump once again said he doesn't know about the incident.
Meanwhile, Iran's senior military spokesperson said that it will strike back if its ports are hit, and this comes a short while after the UN military issued a warning telling civilians in Iran to "immediately" avoid all port facilities along the Strait of Hormuz where Iranian naval forces are operating, as per Al Jazeera.
The spokesperson said that ports in the region will become "legitimate targets" if Iranian ports are attacked, Al Jazeera reported
