US President Donald Trump has called on oil tankers to “show some guts” and sail through the Strait of Hormuz, despite the risk of attack from Iran.
Mr Trump told Fox News there is “nothing to be afraid of" in the strait as Iran has "no navy and we sunk all their ships". Iran has attacked several ships attempting to pass through the narrow waterway and vowed to keep it closed while the war continues, creating a growing maritime crisis.
About 1,000 ships are now trapped, raising fears of a blockade larger than the tanker wars of the 1980s.
About 150 vessels a day are required to transit the strait to keep global energy supplies flowing, but only a small number are currently getting through. Oil prices have surged above $100 a barrel owing to the disruption.
His Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the US would not escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz until the military situation allows it, adding that any such operation could be carried out as part of an international coalition.
“My belief is that as soon as it is militarily possible, the US Navy, perhaps with an international coalition, will be escorting vessels through,” he told Sky News in an interview.
Mr Trump also said US strikes had significantly weakened Iran’s military capabilities, claiming Tehran had previously aimed 1,200 missiles at Gulf states.
“Iran had thousands of missiles pointed at all these Middle Eastern countries for the last four months,” he said. Tehran had sought to dominate the region but US attacks have halted that ambition, he added.
"We have knocked the hell out of them like no other nation could and they still have remnants left," Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump said he believed Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was probably alive but injured. He has not appeared publicly since the war began. “I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form,” Mr Trump said.
Plenty of time
Mr Khamenei on Thursday issued his first written statement since taking office, vowing that Iran would continue the fight. He warned that Tehran would “not refrain from avenging" those killed in the war.
In a post on Truth Social, Mr Trump later said Iranian leaders had been “wiped from the face of the Earth” and vowed the US would continue its campaign against the country. It comes days after he said the war would be "over very soon".
“We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition and plenty of time,” he said in his post.
In his interview, Mr Bessent revealed that the war has so far cost the United States about $11 billion, but dismissed suggestions that the price could force Washington to reconsider the campaign.
Meanwhile, US and Israeli strikes hit parts of Tehran early on Friday, with Iranian media reporting that explosions shook homes in several areas of the capital.
Across the region, the conflict continues to escalate. Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed 45 drones after they entered the kingdom's airspace on Friday, Defence Ministry spokesman Maj Gen Turki Al Malki said.
In Israel, at least 58 people were injured by shrapnel from an Iranian missile barrage in the north of the country, the emergency service Magen David Adom said.
In Lebanon, Israeli strikes hit several areas, including an apartment building in Metn. More than 600 people have been killed in Lebanon since the war between Hezbollah and Israel resumed.
