The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, reported that US President Donald Trump does not support the US military taking over Iran's Kharg Island, fearing massive casualties.
According to the sources, the US president was assured that the landings on the island would be successful.
However, Trump believed that the US military would be an easy target and would suffer unacceptably heavy losses, the newspaper reported.
For his part, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz, stressing that if the United States does not lift the blockade, traffic in the strait will inevitably be restricted.
He stressed that “the Strait of Hormuz is now under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and our approach is based on the principle of step by step so that both the American and Iranian sides fulfill their commitments in a reciprocal manner,” according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Qalibaf added: “We dealt firmly with the US attempt to remove mines and considered it a violation of the ceasefire. We reached the point of confrontation, but the enemy retreated.”
He said: “I told the American delegation in Islamabad that if their minesweeper moved even a little further forward, we would definitely target it. They asked for a 15-minute grace period to issue an order to withdraw, and that is what they actually did.”
Qalibaf added, “If there is traffic in the Strait of Hormuz today, then control over it is in our hands. The Americans’ declaration of a blockade for several days is a hasty and ill-considered decision. It is unreasonable that others can cross the Strait of Hormuz while we cannot. If the United States does not lift the blockade, traffic in the strait will inevitably be restricted.”
He said: “The enemy must have realized that our country’s structure does not depend on individuals, and it is clear that Iran was much stronger in the third imposed war than it had been in the past in terms of both attack and design.”
Qalibaf explained that “Trump requested a ceasefire because we were the victors on the battlefield, and he did not achieve his goal of regime change and destroying our offensive and missile capabilities, and Iran is not Venezuela.”
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