Trump says other countries 'must take care' of Hormuz
The US President urged other nations to help secure a vital shipping lane choked off by the war with Iran.
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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Saturday (Mar 14) said countries that rely on oil carried through the Hormuz Strait should take responsibility for keeping the passage open, with American help.
Global oil prices have surged by 40 per cent as Iran has choked off the vital sea passage and attacked Gulf energy facilities since the US-Israeli strikes launched the war on Iran.
"The United States of America has beaten and completely decimated Iran, both Militarily, Economically, and in every other way, but the Countries of the World that receive Oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage, and we will help -- A LOT!" Trump said on social media.
"The US will also coordinate with those Countries so that everything goes quickly, smoothly, and well. This should have always been a team effort, and now it will be."
Trump, who has said the United States will soon start escorting tankers through the strait, added that he hoped China, France, Japan, South Korea and Britain would send ships to secure the passage.
Iranian strikes have all but halted maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas normally pass. It is just 54 kilometers wide at its narrowest point.
RELUCTANT ALLIES
In his posts on Saturday, Trump asserted that Iran's military capability had been eliminated but conceded that it was still able to attack the strait.
"It's easy for them 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 wrote.
As he urged nations to send ships to the strait, he added that "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!"
On Friday, the US military heavily bombed targets on Iran's Kharg Island which handles almost all of Iran's crude exports.
Trump threatened to also hit the island's oil infrastructure, which was spared in the strikes, "should Iran, or anyone else," interfere with the passage of ships through the strait.
"LONG AS NECESSARY"
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes showed the war was entering a "decisive phase", though he cautioned it would "continue as long as necessary".
Yet, despite facing superior US and Israeli firepower, Iran appeared determined to fight on.
Blasts were heard by AFP journalists over Jerusalem after the military detected missiles launched from Iran on Saturday.
Qatar evacuated downtown areas and intercepted two missiles, with blasts heard by AFP journalists.
The Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas urged Iran to refrain from targeting Gulf neighbours, many of which have supported its cause. It was a rare breach between the allies, though Hamas affirmed Tehran's right to defend itself.
Iran continued to face heavy bombardment, with local media reporting strikes in several provinces through Saturday.
Israel's military, meanwhile, warned people in an industrial zone of Tabriz in northern Iran to evacuate, signalling an imminent attack.
Iran's health ministry says more than 1,200 people have been killed by US and Israeli attacks, numbers that could not be independently verified, while up to 3.2 million people have been displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.
Trump described Iran as "totally defeated" and in search of a deal he was unwilling to consider.
More than 15,000 targets in Iran have been hit by the US and Israel, the Pentagon said. A report this week said the first six days alone cost the US $11.3 billion, while 13 military personnel have died in the war.
TRANSITION
US media raised the possibility of American troops on the ground in Iran, with the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reporting the Pentagon had dispatched the Japan-based amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli to the region, along with around 2,500 Marines.
In Iran, the country's rulers appeared intent on showing they would survive the war and maintain control, despite their supreme leader Ali Khamenei, being killed on the opening day.
Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, was named the new supreme leader, but has been absent from public view and is reportedly wounded.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran's last shah, said on social media on Saturday that he was ready to lead a transition "as soon as the Islamic Republic falls".
But Iran's Revolutionary Guards have threatened a heavy crackdown on any anti-government protests. Thousands were killed during mass demonstrations in January, and a near-total internet blackout has been imposed since the war began.
"EXISTENTIAL BATTLE"
The war has also sparked another devastating round of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The Tehran-backed militant group attacked Israel after Khamenei's death and its leader, Naim Qassem, has called the current conflict an "existential battle".
Israel has responded with air and ground assaults, killing at least 826 people according to the Lebanese authorities.
It has also issued evacuation orders covering hundreds of square kilometres of Lebanon, displacing hundreds of thousands and prompting warnings of a humanitarian disaster.
An overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed more than a dozen health workers at a clinic, health authorities said and put the total number of paramedics killed this month by Israel at 31.
On a visit to Beirut, UN chief Antonio Guterres said "diplomatic avenues are available" to end hostilities.
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