Donald Trump goes off on a tangent during a White House small business summit to address the 'mini war' between the US and Iran.
Trump's chilling warning about the Iran conflict has revived World War III fears among the press and public. He said the US is fortunate that he's the sitting president, because the situation could have easily gone out of hand if someone else had been elected.
'You have the wrong person up here, you'll be in World War III,' he asserted. 'You have the wrong person up there, it's nasty and tricky. It's tricky out there. We have to have the right people, and they have to be sharp and they have to be smart.'
He described what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz as a 'mini-war' that could just as easily spread and escalate beyond the Middle East. He also referred to the US and Israel's joint war against Iran as a 'military operation.'
Trump criticised how the conflict has been unfolding, deeming it an avoidable escalation. 'Our country is booming now, despite the fact that we're in a, I call it a mini war, because that's all they are. They don't have a navy anymore,' he boasted, referring to the reported destruction of 159 Iranian ships.
'I actually got very upset, I said, 'How quality were the ships?' They were very good. I said 'Why didn't you just take the ship? Why do you have to send it to the bottom of the sea?' We could have had, let's say, out of the 159, we could have taken 59,' he added. 'We would have had 59, but they liked, they'd rather blow them up than save them. I would have preferred saving them, but these are minor details.'
Elsewhere in his address, Trump confirmed that the Iran conflict had lasted longer than his initial forecast of four to five weeks. Any effort to peacefully resolve the situation proved futile amid stalemates and stalled peace talks. Trump defended the current timeline, clapping back at critics.
'Like, we have a war right now. And we're into like what six weeks?' he said. 'They said, 'What's taking so long?' We were inVietnam 19 years, we were in Iraq for many years, 10 years, 12 years. We were in all these different wars. Korea, seven years. I won't even mention World War II, that's a big baby.'
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most dangerous pressure points in the Iran conflict. Traffic is still severely constrained, with recent reports claiming only a handful of ships are allowed to pass through, while hundreds remain stuck or rerouted due to the security threat.
Iran says passage must be coordinated with its military, while the US is trying to help vessels move through the area and keep the route open. Shipping experts say the overall security situation remains unchanged, as the threat to tankers has not been neutralised.
Source: International Business Times UK
