Trump rejects Iran ceasefire, says Strait of Hormuz will 'open itself'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has revealed that he does not want a potential cease-fire with Iran. He also claimed that he believes the Strait of Hormuz will “open itself”.

The commander-in-chief was speaking with reporters while leaving the White House on Friday, March 20, when he said, “I don’t want to do a cease-fire. You know, you don’t do a cease-fire when you’re literally obliterating the other side.”

Donald Trump says Iran's finished 'from a military standpoint'

“From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait. But from a military standpoint, they’re finished,” he asserted while addressing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz — one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints.

Trump first said the US might need to do a “simple military maneuver” to open it before noting, “It’s relatively safe, but you need a lot of help, in the sense of you need ships, you need volume. NATO could help us, but they, so far, haven't had the courage to do so. And others could help us.”

“We don’t use it. You know, at a certain point, it’ll open itself,” he added.

Donald Trump claims Tehran will need a decade to rebuild

While speaking with Stephanie Ruhle, an anchor at the outlet formerly called MSNBC, Trump also claimed that Iran is so damaged due to the war that it will take “10 years to rebuild…If we stay longer, they’ll never rebuild.”

He even revealed that the war against Iran was launched not for regime change but “the major thing is that they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Donald Trump lists down US victories over Iran

Additionally, in a recent Truth Social post, Trump mentioned the US’ victories against Iran. He wrote, “We are getting very close to meeting our objectives as we consider winding down our great Military efforts in the Middle East with respect to the Te**orist Regime of Iran.”

He then went on to list down how American has destroyed Tehran as he noted, “completely degrading Iranian Missile Capability, Launchers, and everything else pertaining to them; Destroying Iran’s Defense Industrial Base; Never allowing Iran to get even close to Nuclear Capability, and always being in a position where the USA can quickly and powerfully react to such a situation, should it take place.”

Trump, however, also added that “the Hormuz Strait will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it — The United States does not.”