Trump says US will quickly prevail in Iran war, claims Tehran’s military capabilities destroyed
Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that the United States will prevail in its conflict with Iran “very quickly”, saying Tehran’s military infrastructure has been largely destroyed and Washington now exercises “virtually total control” over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump made the remarks on Wednesday while speaking at a White House event to mark National Hispanic Heritage Month. He discussed several foreign policy issues, including Iran, Iraq and Venezuela, before focusing on the significance of the month-long celebration.
Referring to the six-month-old conflict with Iran, Trump said 18 US service members had been killed, adding that Iran had suffered far higher losses.
“Likewise in Iran, we have been there for six months with 18 killed. By the way, one is too many. But they lost 4,500. We lost 18,” he said.
Trump claimed that Iran’s economy and armed forces had sustained extensive damage.
“We have a nation that's been virtually destroyed. Their economy is no good. They have 300 per cent-plus inflation,” he said, adding that Iran’s navy, air force and anti-aircraft systems had been eliminated.
He also claimed that the US had gained near-complete control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping route linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
“The last week in the Hormuz Strait, which we have almost total control -- I would say total, but every once in a while they'll drop a mine in there and disrupt things a little bit, but we have virtually total control of the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said.
The President further claimed that oil shipments through the waterway had reached their highest level ever during the preceding three days. However, he did not provide data to support the assertion.
Trump suggested that the conflict could soon reach a decisive point but did not disclose the next steps planned by Washington.
“We have another one where we're six months in. And we have -- you know, their military is totally wiped out. And we're going to have that war won very quickly, one way or the other,” he said.
Trump made the comments shortly after discussing US military operations in Venezuela and the country’s long involvement in Iraq.
At the same event, he announced that the final US troops were leaving Iraq, describing the move as the conclusion of a 23-year American military presence in the country.
“We came to fight a caliphate; and there is no longer a caliphate, so we are going home indeed,” Trump said.
He said more than 4,500 US military personnel had died and over 31,000 had been injured during the Iraq conflict. Trump contrasted those figures with the casualties he cited in the Iran conflict, presenting them as evidence of a different US military approach.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying oil and liquefied natural gas from major Gulf producers to global markets, particularly in Asia.
(Inputs from IANS)