Washington, March 16 (IANS) US President Donald Trump said that Washington is speaking with several countries about helping police the Strait of Hormuz, while asserting that Iran’s military capabilities have been sharply degraded in the ongoing conflict.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the United States had achieved “very strong results, militarily results” in operations linked to Iran and was now seeking broader international involvement in securing the key global oil shipping route.
“We are talking to other countries about working with us on the policing of the strait,” Trump said. “And I think we’re getting a good response.”
The President indicated that roughly seven countries had been contacted about joining the effort.
“Just remember that it’s something that we don’t need and these countries do need,” he said, referring to energy shipments passing through the narrow waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, carrying a significant share of global oil supplies. Trump argued that many nations depend on the passage far more than the United States.
“We don’t get oil, very little, 1per cent, 2 per cent. And China, as an example, gets about 90 per cent of its oil from the Hormuz Strait,” he said.
Trump suggested that countries benefiting from the route should play a larger role in safeguarding it.
“I’m really demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory because it is their territory,” he said.
The President said some countries have naval assets that could help with security operations.
“Some of the countries have mine sweepers. That’s good. Some of the countries have a certain type of boat that could help us,” he said.
He warned that even a small number of hostile actors could disrupt shipping in the narrow waterway.
“It only takes a couple of people to screw up the Strait, a couple of terrorists,” Trump said. “All you need is a few people dropping mines here and there.”
Trump also claimed US military strikes had severely weakened Iran’s military capabilities.
“Militarily, we’ve essentially defeated Iran,” he said. “We’ve taken out their Air Force… we’ve taken out their air defence.”
He added that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities had been significantly reduced.
“Their missiles are down to a low number,” Trump said. “Likewise, the drones are way down… down to about 20 per cent of what they had.”
Trump said US forces had targeted infrastructure linked to Iran’s energy exports but had held back from completely destroying certain facilities.
“We attacked Kharg Island and we left just the one little area standing,” he said. “We can do that on five minutes’ notice.”
Despite the military pressure, Trump said communication channels with Iran remain open. “We’re talking to ’em,” he said. “But I don’t think they’re ready.”
At the same time, the President repeated claims that Iran had spread disinformation during the conflict using artificial intelligence.
“They said they attacked the USS Abraham Lincoln… and they showed pictures of it burning. It was never attacked,” Trump said.
He also rejected reports that US aircraft had been destroyed.
“The Wall Street Journal put out a false story that five of our big, beautiful tankers… were all essentially destroyed,” he said. “They weren’t destroyed at all.”
Trump accused Iran of generating fake images and narratives to shape public perception of the conflict. “The kamikaze boats don’t exist,” he said. “It’s AI-generated. It’s fake.”
The President also addressed domestic media coverage, arguing that some outlets were amplifying disinformation.“I actually think it’s pretty criminal because our media companies… are putting out information that they know is false,” he said.
–IANS
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