US President Donald Trump does not consider Iran’s seizure of ships in the Strait of Hormuz as a ceasefire violation, the White House said on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.
Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the president does not view the seizures as violations of the truce he unilaterally extended Tuesday “because these were not US ships. These were not Israeli ships.”
“These were two international vessels. And for the American media, who is sort of blowing this out of proportion to discredit the president’s facts that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional navy, these two ships were taken by speedy gunboats,” she said in an interview with Fox News.
“Iran has gone from having the most lethal navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates they don’t have control over the strait. This is piracy that we are seeing on display, and the naval blockade that the United States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective,” she added.
Trump imposed the blockade to prevent Iran from charging tolls for ships to transit the Strait of Hormuz. It applies to all vessels going to and from Iranian ports.
Iran on Wednesday seized at least two ships in the critical waterway. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Greek-owned Epaminondas, and the Francesca were fired on by Iran before being escorted to Iranian waters. A third ship, the Euphoria, was fired on and stranded in Iranian waters.
Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum said Trump told her in an interview that the three-to-five-day window on the ceasefire he extended is “not true.”
Trump said he is “not in a rush, and that he wants the best deal. He added that the US military blockade, quote ‘Scares the Iranians more than the bombing,’” she said.
The denial on the time limit was later confirmed by Leavitt.
“I know there’s been some anonymous, sourced reporting that there was maybe a three-to-five-day deadline. That is not true,” she told reporters at the White House.
“The president has not set a deadline himself. Ultimately, he will dictate the timetable. And again, he is satisfied with the naval blockade, and he understands that Iran is in a very weak position, and the cards are in President Trump’s hands right now,” she added.
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