President Donald Trump took to his social media account on Tuesday night, posting on a variety of topics. In two posts, he commented about the continued standoff between the United States and Iran regarding the Strait of Hormuz. The president asserted that Iran did not want to close the Strait so it could financially benefit from vessels passing through it, claiming that Iran was “collapsing financially” as a result of the Strait being closed.
“Iran is collapsing financially!” Trump posted late Tuesday night, the second such post he made about Iran and the Strait in a span of a few hours. “They want the Strait of Hormuz opened immediately- Starving for cash! Losing 500 Million Dollars a day. Military and Police complaining that they are not getting paid. SOS!!!”
Trump first mentioned the correlation between the Strait and Iran’s finances on Tuesday in a post earlier that night.
“Iran doesn’t want the Strait of Hormuz closed, they want it open so they can make $500 Million Dollars a day (which is, therefore, what they are losing if it is closed!),” Trump posted. “They only say they want it closed because I have it totally BLOCKADED (CLOSED!), so they merely want to ‘save face.’”
Trump then claimed that “people” contacted him within the last week, affirming that Iran wanted to “open up the Strait,” though he didn’t specify who the “people” were. However, Trump ruled out doing this, presumably by ending his blockade, because it would create a geopolitical situation that would not permit a “deal with Iran” and military operations would have to recommence.
“People approached me four days ago, saying, ‘Sir, Iran wants to open up the Strait, immediately,’” Trump said. “But if we do that, there can never be a Deal with Iran, unless we blow up the rest of their Country, their leaders included!”
It is the second time in just a few days that the president threatened to “blow up Iran.” On Sunday, Trump urged Iran to accept a “very fair deal” in the latest proposal that was supposed to have been offered at negotiations in Pakistan on Tuesday, but did not happen. He warned that if Iran didn’t agree to the terms, the U.S. would “knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge.”
“We’re offering a very fair and reasonable DEAL, and I hope they take it because, if they don’t, the United States is going to knock out every single Power Plant, and every single Bridge, in Iran,” Trump said in a post to his Truth Social account on Sunday morning.
TRUMP EXTENDS CEASEFIRE AND POINTS TO ‘FRACTURED’ IRAN LEADERSHIP AS NEGOTIATIONS FALTER
“NO MORE MR. NICE GUY!” Trump added. “They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honor to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other Presidents, for the last 47 years. IT’S TIME FOR THE IRAN KILLING MACHINE TO END!”
Trump’s latest post about Iran wanting to keep the Strait open came just hours after he opted to extend the ceasefire with Iran, which was originally due to expire on Wednesday. The decision to extend the ceasefire marks a pivot of sorts for Trump, who stated on Monday in an interview with Bloomberg that it was “highly unlikely that I’d extend it.”
“I’m not going to be rushed into making a bad deal. We’ve got all the time in the world,” said Trump. “The Iranians desperately want it opened. I’m not opening it until a deal is signed.”