The President of the United States, Donald Trump, declared this Saturday that his country will not allow itself to be “blackmailed” after the Iranian regime once again proclaimed the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and fired at multiple vessels in the early hours of the morning.
At an event held in the Oval Office, Trump said that, although his administration is having “very good conversations” with Tehran, the Islamist regime was trying to act “astutely” by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz just a few hours after agreeing to open the sea crossing.
“They can't blackmail us,” said the president, stressing that many international transportation companies have diverted their routes to buy energy from the United States in the Gulf of America, instead of in the Persian Gulf.
After attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump reiterated that the Iranian regime “cannot blackmail” the United States
The regime attacked vessels that wanted to pass through the Strait
Iranian diplomacy, for its part, continues to maintain that there is no set date for the new peace negotiations to take place, while the Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that it would not allow the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz until the United States lifts its blockade on Iranian ships.
This blockade ordered by Trump can seriously hurt the Iranian economy, with experts pointing out that the country could be forced to permanently close some oil wells when it runs out of storage space, since they cannot pause oil production without seriously damaging extraction equipment.
Against this background, multiple ships were attacked today by regime forces, including a container ship that was hit by an “unknown projectile that caused damage to some of the containers” off the coast of Oman, according to British control authorities. Two other merchant ships were attacked with firearms.
It remains to be seen if the Saturday morning incidents will affect the decision of European NATO allies - including Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy - to finally send their ships to the Strait of Hormuz to reopen the waterway. The announcement of a peace mission was made on Friday, although Trump said that European intervention, once the fighting had stopped, was not necessary
. After attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump reiterated that the Iranian regime “cannot blackmail” the United States
