WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump on Monday repeated criticism of Japan, South Korea, Australia and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for not providing naval assistance to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Kyodo reported that during a press conference at the White House, Trump complained that Japan and South Korea were “not helping” despite the presence of tens of thousands of US troops in both countries to protect them from North Korea, which he said has “many nuclear weapons.”
Trump’s suggestion that US military support for the two key allies in Asia, as well as Australia, should be reciprocated, came after he once again described NATO as cowardly.
Instead, Trump praised several countries in West Asia including Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as “good” partners to the United States since the country and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28.
While repeating his threats against Iran, Trump insisted that the United States had already won the war militarily.
He said unless Tehran reaches a deal with Washington, Iran’s critical infrastructure could be destroyed within four hours.
Trump set Tuesday at 8pm in Washington as a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway vital to global oil supplies.
Tehran has largely blocked the strait since the war began, affecting energy markets.
Reopening the shipping lanes, Trump said, is a “huge priority.”
“We have to have an agreement that I can accept and part of that agreement is that we want free passage for oil and everything.”
“(Otherwise,) we have a plan due to our military strength, with every bridge in Iran being completely destroyed by 12 midnight tomorrow, and every power plant in Iran being crippled, burning, exploding, and no longer usable,” he said.
Speaking with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, the president said the United States was actually more willing to not destroy Iran’s critical infrastructure.
“It would take them 100 years to rebuild now.
“If we leave today, it will take them 20 years to rebuild their country, and it will not be as good as before.
“The only way they can rebuild their country is by leveraging the ingenuity of the United States,” Trump said.
Earlier in the day, Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, said the country wanted a permanent end to the war, not a ceasefire.
Rejecting Washington’s 15-point ceasefire proposal, which the news agency said was conveyed through Pakistan, Iran presented its own 10-point plan, including a framework to end regional hostilities and ensure safe passage through the strategic waterway.
In comments at a separate event before the press conference, Trump described Iran’s proposed response as an “important step” but not yet enough.
— BERNAMA-KYODO
