Dubai, UAE — US President Donald Trump said Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon and described the Strait of Hormuz as “American territory”, escalating his rhetoric over the strategically vital waterway.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Trump said the United States had already acted to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and would ensure it never does.
Trump said Iran was eager for a deal but questioned whether Washington should accept one, saying he now viewed the Strait of Hormuz as US territory.
He also described difficulties in determining whom Washington should negotiate with in Tehran, saying Iran had lost senior military and political leaders as well as elements of its military infrastructure.
Trump said Iran was unusual because, in his view, its leaders were reluctant to assume the presidency.
Iran calls sanctions ‘declaration of war’
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei described new US sanctions as a “declaration of war” against governments worldwide, saying Washington was attempting to impose its authority beyond its borders.
Baghaei said secondary sanctions targeting foreign banks, companies and transport infrastructure had no basis in international law and violated the principle of sovereign equality under the UN Charter.
He warned that combining economic sanctions with a naval blockade threatened the sovereignty of other states and could amount to a return to “full-scale colonialism”.
Yanbu tanker traffic falls
Tanker traffic at Saudi Arabia’s Yanbu port has fallen by more than a third since Yemen’s Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi vessels through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait last month, according to Lloyd’s List.
Saudi Arabia is responding by rerouting crude through shuttle tankers, Egypt’s SUMED pipeline and the Sidi Kerir port on the Mediterranean coast.
The alternative routes require more vessels and can add weeks to voyages carrying cargo to Asia, Lloyd’s List said.
Georgia rejects EU Iran sanctions
Georgia has declined to join the latest European Union sanctions against Iran, saying its international political decisions are guided exclusively by national interests.
US says oil continues through Hormuz
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US military helped move more than 15 million barrels of oil and other products through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.
He said an average of about eight million barrels was now passing through the waterway each day.
The International Maritime Organization said it had recorded 68 incidents and 19 seafarer deaths in the Strait of Hormuz as of Friday since Iran imposed its blockade in late February.
