‘Don’t want them to make $500 million a day’: Donald Trump’s motive behind Strait of Hormuz blockade

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he did not remove the naval blockade from the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from making money during a press conference on Thursday. Trump claimed that Tehran would have opened the Strait up “three days earlier,” and that there was a sense of joy among his advisers. However, Trump said that he did not like the idea of Iran making money from the Strait being open, and therefore refused to lift the blockade

“I said, ‘Wait a minute. If we open the Strait, that means they’re going to make $500 million a day.’ I don’t want them to make $500 million a day until they settle this thing. So, I am the one who kept it closed. We have total control of it, and it will open when they make a deal, or something else happens,” he said. 

On Wednesday, the President posted on Truth Social that Tehran did not know who the leader was, claiming that there was “infighting” between the “hardliners” and the “moderates.” He made the same claim in Thursday’s press conference. Trump said that Tehran wanted to make a deal but had no idea who the leader of the country was. “They are in turmoil, so we thought we’d give them a little chance to get some of that resolved,” he added.

However, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has denied claims of a lack of unity in Tehran. Taking to X, Pezeshkian wrote that there were no “hardliners” or “moderates.” “With ironclad unity of nation and state and obedience to the Supreme Leader, we will make the aggressor regret,” he added.

President Trump was also questioned about the longevity of the war, as it had gone on for eight weeks, while he had said that it would last four to six weeks. The POTUS claimed that he had taken “a little break” and had given Tehran a “break” as well. He also said that it would be a “tremendous success” if the U.S. walked away immediately, as it would take Iran “20 years” to rebuild its nuclear capability.

“But I don’t want to do that,” President Trump added, saying that he wanted a deal that would forever prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. While he did not provide a timeframe for a permanent end to the conflict, he said that it would end “pretty quickly.” He didn’t react as kindly to another reporter who asked a similar question, as he brought up the Vietnam War yet again.

“You're such a disgrace. Did you hear what I just said? Vietnam? How many years was Vietnam?” he asked. “I took the country (Iran) out militarily in the first four weeks. I took it out militarily. Now, what we are doing is sitting back and seeing what deal. And if they do not want to make a deal, I will finish it up militarily.”