U.S. President Trump said on Fox News Channel on the 13th: "We will take control of the Strait. They have nothing."
When talking about the Hormuz Strait, he continued, “We need to defend it. We will be rewarded for defending it—a large amount of money.”
We will get compensation because other countries are very wealthy. They are standing on our side, and we cannot do this work without getting something in return," Trump claimed, implying that the United States would charge fees to each country for guaranteeing safe passage through a dangerous waterway.
In its latest statement, a spokesman for the Central Command of the Iranian Armed Forces, Houtham Anbia, warned that Iran will never allow the United States to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said that if the US causes any “damage” to merchant ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz “outside Iran’s designated routes” and “without the permission of the Iranian armed forces”, the Iranian armed forces will take “severe measures”.
When warning other regional countries, the spokesman added that any cooperation with the United States or providing logistical support to it would be considered an “act of war against Iran’s sovereignty and national security”. “If war spreads in the region, flames will spread to all countries in the region,” he said. All forms of instability are due to the United States and the countries that cooperate with its military forces.
The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Navy announced in the early hours of the 12th that the Hormuz Strait would be closed from now on, until further notice, and that the United States should stop interfering in this region.
The US Central Command stated on social media on the same day that 'everything is normal' in the Hormuz Strait, and Iran does not control the strait. U.S. President Trump also insisted that the Hormuz Strait is 'open', saying, 'Last night we bombed them (Iran) hard.'
