Donald Trump will not let ships be fired on in the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran ‘paying a consequence’, says administration
US forces have launched strikes against Iran for the sixth day running as the White House said it could hit the country “anytime, anywhere, any place”.
The American military said the latest attacks aimed to “further degrade Iranian military capabilities”, as raids intensified.
The US administration also confirmed it was in talks with Tehran, but that Donald Trump would not allow ships to be fired on in the Strait of Hormuz without the regime “paying a consequence for that”.
Ongoing clashes between the US and Iran over the contested Gulf waterway, which is vital to global energy supplies, have fuelled concerns of a return to a full-blown conflict.
The escalating violent struggle over the channel, triggered by Iran attacking cargo ships, led the US president to declare a ceasefire over and reimpose a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
This has already seen resulted in one ship being disabled by American missile fire for reportedly trying to break through.
The strait had been open before the war was launched by the US and Israel on February 28.
In response to the offensive, Tehran effectively closed the waterway to maritime traffic, which disrupted global oil and gas supplies and drove up fuel and food prices.
Despite the initial ceasefire deal with the US, known as the memorandum of understanding, Iran continued to exert leverage over the sea route by demanding ships seek permission to transit, raising the threat of future charges and attacking vessels.
Tehran claims it controls the channel, while this is disputed by the US and other countries, which cite international law on freedom of navigation.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “Iran very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us because they are suffering devastating blows on behalf of our United States military.
“The reason for the recent strikes over the course of the last several days is because Iran violated the memorandum of understanding that we struck with them.
“Specifically, in the memorandum of understanding that they signed, they were not to fire on commercial vessels moving through the Strait of Hormuz, and unfortunately, they have made the tragic decision, for them, to do that.
“President Trump is not going to sit by and allow these active acts of terrorism to take place in the Strait without ensuring Iran pays consequences for that, and that’s what we are witnessing right now.”
She added: “We’re talking to them, but again, the president is not going to allow them to fire on ships in the Strait without paying a consequence for that.
“I think throughout this entire endeavour, the president has proved not just to Iran but to the entire world that we can hit Iran anytime, anywhere, any place, and their ability to defend themselves has been essentially wiped out.”
Meanwhile, Iranian military spokesman Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari said: “Under no circumstances and in no way will we allow America, as a foreign and extra-regional country, to interfere in the Strait of Hormuz.
“This is Iran’s invincible red line.”
Also in the briefing, Ms Leavitt denied the White house was sending mixed signals over Iran, with the president describing the regime as “scum” and a waste of time to deal with, while vice president JD Vance was critical of people who opposed negotiations with Tehran.
She said: “I can tell you the president, vice president are on the exact same page about where we are right now in this conflict.”
Pressed over Mr Trump’s continued insistence that the US military was not responsible for a strike on an Iranian school at the start of the war, which killed more than 100 children, despite evidence it was a tragic mistake by American forces, Ms Leavitt said: “Well, that’s the president’s opinion.”
She said the defence department was “investigating the matter” and added: “I think the president feels that way because he knows that our military always acts in good faith and absolutely never target civilians or children.
“Unlike the other side of this conflict, Iran, who is well known for killing women and children and innocent people in their country for a very long time.”
