DONALD Trump has vowed to strike Iran’s oil and called on other countries to “show courage” by reopening the Strait of Hormuz themselves.
In an address from the White House late on Wednesday night, the US president said the ongoing campaign against the reeling regime was “nearing completion”.
He said the “hard part” of the war was already finished and that Iran had been “decimated”.
Trump urged countries to show “courage” by helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz – a passage for one-fifth of global oil exports.
But he highlighted – in his first speech to all of America since the beginning of the war – that the US did not need the key waterway.
His call to other nations to unravel Tehran’s chokehold on the critical trade route suggests energy prices could remain high in the near future.
THE SUN SAYS
Starmer has used war in Iran as an excuse to rejoin the EU by the back door
IN THE RED
PM slammed for ‘exploiting war to undo Brexit’ & blaming ‘everyone but himself’
He urged other countries to shoulder responsibility – but made little mention of Washington stepping in to help.
Trump said: “We will be helpful, but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on.”
Tehran’s attacks on ships passing through the key strait have plunged global markets into chaos while sending oil prices soaring.
Brent crude jumped past $105 on Wednesday following his historic address.
Trump also promised in the speech: “We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two weeks.
“If there is no deal we are going to hit every one of their electrical plants.”
President Trump also threatened to blitz all of Iran’s oil plants – something he said the US had refrained from over fears it would completely cripple the country.
“We have not hit their oil, even though that is the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding,” he added.
“But we could hit it, and there is not a thing they can do about it.”
During the highly anticipated address on Wednesday night, Trump also paid his respects to the 13 US service members who have been killed in the conflict.
And he declared that the war was nearly over.
Trump said: “We must honour their lives by completing the mission… we’re gonna finish it very fast. We are getting very close.”
He also claimed : “I am pleased to say that our core strategic objectives in Iran are nearing completion.”
Trump doubled down on promises to never allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon, while boasting that Tehran’s Navy and Air Force were “gone” and “in ruins”.
The Middle East war kicked off on February 28 with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US-Israeli blitz on Tehran.
The late pariah’s sensational death caused the regime to lash out – launching missiles and Shahed drones across the region.
American assets, airports, and homes across the Gulf states were struck in the following weeks – with several deaths reported in the region.
Travel chaos broke out across Dubai, Doha and other major cities in the Middle East, leaving countless Brits stranded as thousands of flights were grounded.
Tehran’s ensuing chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz plunged global energy markets in chaos as the US-Israeli bombardment of Iran continued.
Several top regime chiefs were wiped out as Mojtaba Khamenei – the son of the slain Ayatollah – was crowned new Supreme Leader, despite not being seen publicly since earning his new title.
Trump has boasted that the US military is on track to achieving its objectives – amid speculation that he is weighing up a ground invasion of the embattled nation.
The US president claimed Iran has asked for a ceasefire – also vowed to continue blitzing the rogue state “to the Stone Ages” until the Strait of Hormuz is freed.
Trump said on Wednesday on Truth Social: “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE!
“We will consider when Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!”
Tehran’s foreign ministry rebuked Trump’s claims, calling them “false and baseless”.