They got a little cute: Trump mocks Iran, says Hormuz move won't blackmail US

Donald Trump mocked Iran's renewed closure of the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran "can't blackmail" the US, while asserting that ongoing talks are "working out really well."

In Short

• Trump mocks Iran’s closure of Strait of Hormuz
• Tehran's move seen as an attempt to pressure US
• US continues dialogue with Iran despite tensions

US President Donald Trump on Sunday mocked Iran over its move to reimpose closure of the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran had “got a little cute” but would not be able to “blackmail” the United States.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said Washington remains in talks with Iran despite the development and expressed confidence about ongoing dialogue. “We’re talking to them,” he said, adding that discussions are “working out really well” even as tensions persist over the key shipping route.

Trump made the comments Saturday morning during a White House event where he signed an executive order directing the Food and Drug Administration to expedite review of certain psychedelic drugs designed as breakthrough therapy for mental illness.

Iran’s decision to again shut the strait prompted a sharp response from Trump, who downplayed the move while warning against coercion. “They wanted to close up the strait again,” he said, asserting that “they can’t blackmail us.”

The US President also indicated that more clarity on the situation would emerge soon. “We’ll have some information by the end of the day,” he said, without offering further details on the status of negotiations or the implications of the closure.

IRAN SHUTS HORMUZ

Iran on Saturday reversed its reopening of the crucial waterway and fired on ships attempting to pass, in retaliation after the United States pressed ahead with its blockade of Iranian ports.

The strait is closed until the US blockade is lifted, Iran's Revolutionary Guard navy said Saturday night, warning that “no vessel should make any movement from its anchorage in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, and approaching the Strait of Hormuz will be considered as cooperation with the enemy” and be targeted.

On Friday, Iran announced the strait's reopening to commercial vessels after a 10-day truce was announced between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon. The reopening caused oil prices to fall.

IRAN REVIEWS NEW US PROPOSALS

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement that Pakistan’s army chief, serving as an intermediary, presented the proposals to Iran when he recently visited Tehran, and they were still under review.

It was not revealed what was in the proposals.

The council said Iran has yet to respond, but further talks would require the US to abandon “excessive demands and adjust its requests to the realities on the ground.”

It also said that Iran will maintain full control over traffic through the Strait of Hormuz until “the war fully ends and lasting peace is achieved in the region,” adding that it would collect detailed information on passing vessels, issue transit certificates and impose tolls.

HARRIS SAYS TRUMP PULLED INTO WAR

US President Donald Trump was “pulled into” the war with Iran by Israel, acting against the will of the American people, former vice president Kamala Harris has claimed.

“Trump entered a war, got pulled into it by Bibi Netanyahu — let’s be clear about that,” Harris said, using a common nickname for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Addressing a Democratic Party fundraiser in Detroit, she added that the conflict was one “the American people do not want,” warning it puts US service members at risk.

Netanyahu has repeatedly dismissed claims that he pushed the US into war with Iran, calling such assertions “fake news” and maintaining that Trump’s decisions are guided solely by what he believes is in America’s best interest.

- Ends