Trump remarks fuel tensions as Iran warns of wider war
US President Donald Trump appeared to suggest that Iran should be allowed to “take out” Los Angeles and San Diego, as Washington and Tehran continued to trade threats amid efforts to end their war.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, Trump said Americans should accept higher prices as a cost of maintaining national and global security.
“They can take out a city,” Trump said. “Let them take out Los Angeles. Let them take out San Diego. This is a very small price to pay.”
Trump said the war was “essentially almost over with”, while also acknowledging that it could continue for longer. He predicted that the conflict would end “one way or the other” and said prices would eventually fall sharply.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the remarks, saying Trump was putting the state at risk.
US intercepts another commercial vessel
The US military said it had redirected another commercial vessel in the Middle East, bringing the number of ships intercepted during its blockade of Iran to 130.
US Central Command said its forces had redirected 130 commercial vessels and disabled three ships that refused to comply since the operation resumed on July 14.
CENTCOM also said US forces had destroyed 13 commercial vessels over the previous 12 weeks, alleging that the ships had violated the blockade or were linked to an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shadow network.
“The US military remains intensely focused on this mission,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said, warning that American forces would act against vessels attempting to run the blockade.
Iran threatens US bases and warships
Iran, meanwhile, has warned that any US ground invasion would trigger attacks on American military bases and vessels across the region.
Ali Fadavi, an adviser to the commander-in-chief of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Sunday that Tehran would target “every location related to the Americans” if Washington launched a ground offensive.
Fadavi said US warships and bases would be vulnerable to Iranian missiles and warned that any increase in tensions would harm Washington.
His remarks came as the US continued moving additional naval and military assets into the Middle East, including carrier and amphibious forces, while strengthening air and missile defenses.
Strait of Hormuz at center of negotiations
Iranian officials have identified the Strait of Hormuz as a central issue in negotiations aimed at ending the conflict.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said restoring security to the strategic waterway would require specific steps by the United States, including an end to interference with Iranian commercial shipping and sanctions.
Baqaei said Washington's latest proposal remained focused heavily on Iran's nuclear program and was largely similar to previous proposals.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global energy supplies. Iran effectively closed the waterway after the conflict began, prompting the US military to impose a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
Iran calls for negotiations
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the conflict could not be resolved through military action or additional sanctions.
“There is no military solution and no solution based on more sanctions,” Araghchi said, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency.
He called for negotiations based on diplomacy and said Tehran was prepared to defend itself with greater force if Washington resorted to further military action.
The competing threats and diplomatic demands come as the US and Iran continue efforts to reach a framework for ending the war, with navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's nuclear program remaining central to negotiations.
Source:AA
