‘Economy is crashing’: Trump claims Iran is not ‘getting any money from oil’

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) made multiple assertions regarding Iran, its domestic conditions and ongoing US actions. He claimed that American involvement has helped avert large-scale executions and has substantially weakened Iran’s military capabilities.

Two months into the US-Israeli war with Iran, the vital sea channel, Strait of Hormuz, remains closed, choking off 20% of the world's oil and gas supplies. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn.

Speaking during an executive order signing event in the Oval Office, Trump said Iran had carried out mass killings amid internal unrest, ANI reported.

"Iran killed 42,000 people over the last two months. They were going to kill eight women whose lives I saved. And I appreciate that they didn't do it. I asked them not to do it, but they didn't do it."

Trump framed US operations as ongoing but not a formal war, saying, "And that's despite a military operation. I don't call it a war. I'd rather have a military operation. Iran is dying to make a deal."

"Their economy is crashing. The blockade is incredible. The power of the blockade is incredible. They're not getting any money from oil. And hopefully, it can be worked out very soon," he added.

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He asserted that US actions had significantly degraded Iran's military capacity, saying, "Their navy's gone. Their air force is gone, their drone factories are about 82% down, and their missile factories are almost 90% down."

The US president alleged that he personally intervened to stop executions, saying, "They were getting ready to hang the women. I got on the phone very quickly, and I said, 'Don't do it. The whole world is watching'."

Trump also described broader alleged repression in Iran, including the execution of a wrestler and his associates for political speech, saying, "They killed him because he protested. They executed him along with his friends."

Tehran threatens painful response if US renews attacks

Iran said on Thursday it would respond with "long and painful strikes" on US positions if Washington renewed attacks and restated its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating US plans for a coalition to reopen the waterway, Reuters reported.

Efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse, with a ceasefire in place since 8 April. However, Iran is still blocking the strait in response to a US naval blockade of Iran's oil exports, Tehran's economic lifeline.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message to Iranians that Tehran would eliminate "the enemies' abuses of the waterway" under the new management of the strait, indicating that Tehran intends to maintain its hold over it.

"Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometres away ... have no place there except at the bottom of its waters," he said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres cautioned that if the disruption from the closure continues into mid-year, it could slow global economic growth, drive up inflation, and push tens of millions more people into poverty and severe hunger.

"The longer this vital artery is choked, the harder it will be to reverse the damage," he told reporters in New York.

Trump faces a formal US deadline on Friday to end the war or make the case to Congress for extending it. Analysts and congressional aides said they expect him either to notify Congress of his intent to seek a 30-day extension or simply to disregard the deadline, Reuters reported.

(With inputs from agencies)