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Trump: Securing Straight 'Not for Us' 04/01 06:19
President Donald Trump lashed out Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling
to do more to support the U.S. war effort against Iran, telling them to "go get
your own oil" and saying it was not America's job to secure the Strait of
Hormuz.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- President Donald Trump lashed out
Tuesday at allies who have been unwilling to do more to support the U.S. war
effort against Iran, telling them to "go get your own oil" and saying it was
not America's job to secure the Strait of Hormuz.
The president said the military could end its offensive in two to three
weeks and that the U.S. "will not have anything to do with" what happens next
in the strait that has been closed by the Islamic Republic. Instead, he told
reporters, the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest
with countries that rely on it.
There's "no reason for us to do this," Trump said after signing an executive
order that seeks to restrict mail-in voting. "That's not for us. That'll be for
France. That'll be for whoever's using the strait."
The White House said Trump would deliver a prime-time address Wednesday
evening to update the public on the war.
In other developments, the closure of the strait sent average U.S. gas
prices past $4 a gallon, and U.S. strikes hit the central city of Isfahan,
sending a massive fireball into the sky. Tehran attacked a fully loaded Kuwaiti
oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.
The attacks showed the intensity of the war more than a month after the U.S.
and Israel launched it. The conflict has left more than 3,000 dead and caused
major disruptions to the world's supply of oil and natural gas, roiling global
markets and pushing up the cost of many basic goods.
Trump, whose comments have vacillated between talk that diplomatic progress
is being made with Iran and threats to widen the war, had earlier shared
footage of the attack on Isfahan.
Fuel prices rise, rattling global markets
Iran's stranglehold on the strait, the waterway leading out of the Persian
Gulf through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported during peacetime,
has driven up global oil prices, as have Tehran's attacks on regional energy
infrastructure.
Spot prices of Brent crude, the international standard, hovered around $107
a barrel Tuesday, up more than 45% since the war started Feb. 28.
In a social media post, Trump directed blame at U.S. allies such as the
United Kingdom and France that have refused to enter a war with no clear
endgame that they were not consulted on.
"You'll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won't
be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us. Iran has
been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!"
Trump wrote.
He singled out France for not letting planes fly over French territory while
taking military supplies to Israel.
France has allowed the U.S. Air Force to use the Istres base in southern
France because it had guarantees that planes landing there would not be
involved in carrying out strikes.
Allies have refused to get involved
Spain, which has emerged as Europe's loudest critic of the war, said Monday
that it had closed its airspace for U.S. planes involved in the conflict.
Italy recently refused to allow U.S. military assets to use the Sigonella
air base in Sicily for an operation linked to the offensive, an official with
knowledge of the matter said, confirming a local press report. The official
spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak
publicly.
Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto wrote on X that Italy is still
allowing the U.S. to use its bases, adding that there has been no cooling of
relations between the two countries.
Journalist kidnapped in Iraq
An American journalist was kidnapped Tuesday in Baghdad, and Iraqi security
forces are pursuing her captors, Iraqi officials said. The journalist was
identified as freelancer Shelly Kittleson by Al-Monitor, one of the news
outlets she worked for.
A U.S. official blamed the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kataib Hezbollah.
Two cars were involved in the kidnapping, one of which crashed, and a person
inside was apprehended. The journalist was then transferred to a second car
that fled the scene, according to two Iraqi security officials who spoke on
condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about
the case.
Dylan Johnson, U.S. assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said on
X that the State Department had "fulfilled our duty to warn this individual of
threats against them."
In a statement, Al-Monitor said it stands by her "vital reporting."
Kittleson has been a longtime freelancer in the region, reporting extensively
from Syria and Iraq.
Another aircraft carrier deploys to Middle East
The aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush deployed Tuesday from Norfolk,
Virginia, and is slated to head to the Middle East, two U.S. officials said.
They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
It would be the third carrier sent out to support the Iran war, along with
the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is now undergoing repairs, and the USS Abraham
Lincoln, which arrived in the region in January.
Trump warned this week that if a ceasefire is not reached "shortly," and if
the strait is not reopened, the U.S. would broaden its offensive, including by
attacking the Kharg Island oil export hub and possibly desalination plants.
Speaking at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not say if
U.S. ground forces would enter the war. "We don't want to have to do more
militarily than we have to," he said.
A ground invasion could alienate Iranians who despise the ruling theocracy
and who rose up in mass protests that were crushed earlier this year. Some
could see it as an attack on Iran itself and rally around the flag.
Since the Iran war began, 13 U.S. service members have been killed and 348
wounded, six seriously, according to a formal count provided Tuesday by Capt.
Tim Hawkins, spokesman for U.S. Central Command.
Iran hits oil tanker as Israel strikes Iran and Lebanon
The Israeli military said early Wednesday that it had killed a senior
Hezbollah commander and another senior leader in two separate strikes in the
Beirut area.
Military officials said they launched strikes targeting what they described
as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital. Defense Minister Israel
Katz said Israel plans to control the area south of the Litani River -- some 20
miles (about 30 kilometers) north of the border.
Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching missiles
into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the wider war. Many Lebanese
fear another prolonged military occupation.
Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates has barred Iranians from entering or
transiting the country as the war rages, three major airlines said. The
long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, as well as the lower-cost airline
FlyDubai, made the announcements Wednesday on their websites.
In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19
have been reported dead in Israel.
Two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In
Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been killed, and more than
1 million displaced.
Ten Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, including four announced Tuesday.
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