US may resume operations in Strait of Hormuz or take more serious action — Trump

WASHINGTON, May 12. /TASS/. Washington may soon resume military operations in the Strait of Hormuz or even take "much more severe" action against Iran, US President Donald Trump stated. In an interview with CBS News, the US leader opined that effective control over the Strait of Hormuz is "the only weapon" in Tehran’s arsenal. "We would have had it (the strait - TASS) open, except that I did the favors for certain countries that asked me not to do it. We would have had it open under Operation Freedom, but we can easily go back to that," Trump pointed out. When asked whether Washington now intends to act in precisely this manner, given its dissatisfaction with Tehran’s response to new US proposals to end hostilities, the president said: "I don’t know. Either that, or [something] much more severe." He did not go into details. At the same time, Trump once again lashed out at Iran’s abovementioned response, noting that it was "totally unacceptable." He told CBS News that "it was just a bad proposal, a stupid proposal, actually, done by people that have no clue as to the danger they're in." When asked if the Iranians were making concessions to the Americans, the US president said: "Yes, for sure, but not nearly enough." On February 28, the US and Israel launched a large-scale operation against Iran. On April 7, Trump announced a two-week mutual ceasefire with Tehran. According to the Iranian side, a total of 3,375 Iranians died as a result of US and Israeli attacks over the 40 days of war. On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad. Both Tehran and Washington reported that the parties failed to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement due to a number of contradictions. On April 21, the US leader announced on Truth Social that Washington intends to extend the ceasefire with Iran, which was set to expire in a few hours. According to the Iranian state broadcaster, Tehran does not intend to comply with Washington’s unilaterally announced extension of the ceasefire and will prioritize its own interests.