Trump: America will become the 'guardian angel' of the Strait of Hormuz and take control of it

Donald Trump announced on July 13 that the United States would "take control" of the Strait of Hormuz. He made this statement after another series of overnight airstrikes on Iran, writes New York Post.

"We're taking control of the strait. They have nothing. They have nothing left," Trump, 80, said on Fox & Friends, commenting on Iran's claims of closing this key sea route.

"We'll simply strike them very hard, and we'll hold the strait, and probably control it," the president added later. "We'll become the strait's guardian. You could even call us its guardian angel, and we should be paid for it... We guarded it for free, and now we'll guard it and get paid for it."

On the subject: How Trump's Iran deal differs from the agreement Obama signed with Tehran

Before Operation Epic Fury began on February 28, nearly 20% of the world's seaborne oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz annually.

In early April, the White House brokered an expanded ceasefire with Iran, and last month the two sides reached a preliminary peace agreement in the form of a memorandum of understanding. However, the agreement fell apart due to disputes over the status of the strait and its importance to the global economy.

Iran has announced the closure of the strait and insists that control over it rests solely with Tehran, which is, among other things, considering charging tolls to ships for passage. The United States, and Trump personally, however, maintain that the strait remains open.

"We had an agreement. Everything was settled, but they violated it," Trump said on June 13. "They always do. We had 10 agreements with them, and so we're just going to hit them very hard."

According to US Central Command, on the night of June 12, American forces struck approximately 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition depots, communications facilities, and other facilities. The scale of these strikes significantly exceeded the two previous series of attacks over the past week.

"We've put them to flight. Most of their equipment is destroyed. Their air defense systems are destroyed. We hit them very hard last night. Every time they launch a drone, we respond very hard," Trump assured.

Iran responded by firing missiles and other munitions at Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan, and even Oman, whose territorial waters form the strait with Iran's. There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties among US allies.

Iranian state media confirmed strikes on the country's territory on the morning of July 13, reporting explosions in several areas and at least one death.

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The overnight US strikes were in response to Iran's attack on a container ship. This incident was the latest in a chain of mutual attacks that led Trump to declare the ceasefire over last week, although mediators from Egypt, Pakistan, and Qatar are still trying to reach a peace agreement.

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