US President Donald Trump expressed indifference over whether Iran would return to the negotiation table following a stalemate in talks held in Islamabad in order to achieve a complete halt in hostilities in West Asia.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump claimed that Iran was in a “very bad shape” and “very desperate”.
The US President reiterated his claims of Iran’s military capabilities being significantly weakened, following over a month-long military operation by the US on the Islamic Republic, asserting that Tehran’s missile stockpiles and manufacturing capacity had been “largely depleted”.
“I don’t know. I don’t care if they come back or not. If they don’t come back, I’m fine. Their military is gone. Their missiles are largely depleted. The manufacturing capability for missiles and drones is largely defeated. We’ve been very nice. We haven’t ripped down too many bridges,” Trump said.
“I think Iran is in very bad shape. I think they’re very desperate. We had a meeting that lasted 21 hours. We understand the situation better than anybody,” he added.
The US President further accused Iran of failing to honour its commitments as part of the two-week ceasefire deal, particularly regarding the strategic Strait of Hormuz, calling the leadership of the Islamic Republic ‘liars’.
“Their promise was that they were going to open the Strait of Hormuz. They didn’t do it. They lied,” he said.
“We understand the situation better than anybody,” he added.
Reiterating Washington’s long-standing position on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, Trump said, “Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. There is no way that they’re going to get it.” He added that while Iran continued to seek such capabilities, the United States would prevent it.
Announcing further measures, Trump reiterated that the blockade on the Strait would come into effect at 10 am the following day, aimed at restricting Iran’s ability to export oil.
He noted that other nations were cooperating with the effort, which he described as “very effective”.
The President also claimed that ships were attempting to bypass traditional routes to transport oil, adding that the situation would be “corrected.”
“At 10 o’clock tomorrow, we have a blockade going into effect that’ll be 10 o’clock tomorrow. Other nations are working so that Iran will not be able to sell oil, and that will be very effective,” Trump said.
“There are many boats heading towards our country to fill up with oil and take it. They are not going through the Hormuz Strait. And ultimately, that will be corrected, but they are using us now. We have more oil than Russia and Saudi Arabia put together due to ‘drill baby drill’,” he added.
