Trump warns Iran again over closure of Strait of Hormuz — ‘US will be bombing the hell out of shoreline’

United States President Donald Trump has warned that the country “will be bombing the h*ll out of the shoreline” at the Strait of Hormuz and expressed hope that other countries would also send their war ships to the area.

In a post on Truth Social today, Trump wrote: “Many countries, especially those who are affected by Iran’s attempted closure of the Hormuz Strait, will be sending War Ships, in conjunction with the United States of America, to keep the Strait open and safe.”

Reuters in a report said that the White House did not immediately respond to queries on whether any countries had agreed to send ships.

‘Destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability': Trump

Trump further claimed that the US has “already destroyed 100% of Iran’s military capability”, but that it is easy for the West Asian country “to send a drone or two, drop a mine, or deliver a close-range missile somewhere along, or in, this Waterway, no matter how badly defeated they are”. He was referring to the Strait of Hormuz.

“Hopefully China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and others, that are affected by this artificial constraint, will send Ships to the area so that the Hormuz Strait will no longer be a threat by a Nation that has been totally decapitated,” he added.

Trump said that “in the meantime, the United States will be bombing the hell out of the shoreline and continually shooting Iranian Boats and Ships out of the water. One way or the other, we will soon get the Hormuz Strait OPEN, SAFE, and FREE!”

US to escort vessels through strategic waterway?

Earlier on 13 March, in an interview with Fox News, Trump said the US would escort vessels through the Strait of Hormuz if needed. When asked, he answered “We would do it if we needed to. But, you know, hopefully things are going to go very well. We're going to see what happens.”

A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report the same day cited sources to report that the US is weighing sending more warships to the Middle East in preparation to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. It however added that even with the additional warships, the US wouldn't begin escorting vessels until the threat from Iran is reduced.

“That could take up a month or more” as the US and Israel continue to pound Tehran with missiles and drones, it said.

Iran has effectively shut the vital waterway, which usually transports a fifth of the world’s oil supply and a significant number of container ships, as per a Bloomberg report.