Donald Trump vows US will ‘win war with Iran’ as he floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’
US President Donald Trump has declared the US will defeat Iran as renewed fighting around the Strait of Hormuz sends oil prices soaring.
Donald Trump has declared the United States will “win the war with Iran” and again floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself as fighting in the Middle East escalates and oil prices surge above $US100 ($A138) a barrel.
The US President used a major address in Dallas, Texas, to predict victory over Tehran and promise Americans that soaring oil prices would come down once the conflict was won.
Staying firmly on the Iran conflict, which has escalated again in recent days, Mr Trump branded Tehran the “bullies” of the Middle East.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.He also again mused about putting his own name on one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, suggesting the Strait of Hormuz could become the “Trump Strait”.
The President has been on something of a renaming spree, recently attempting to rebrand Lake Ontario as “Lake America” amid an escalating trade war with Canada.
But the remarks about Hormuz come against a far more serious backdrop.
The US-Iran war has entered its seventh month, despite Mr Trump initially predicting the conflict would be considerably shorter, and renewed fighting has again put the crucial global shipping route at the centre of hostilities.
Iran said it attacked 10 ships near the Strait on Wednesday after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, sending Brent crude above $US100 a barrel for the first time since July.
Mr Trump has predicted the conflict will soon be over, saying Iran “can’t hold out any longer”.
The President also linked victory in the Middle East directly to the financial pressure being felt by Americans at home.
Mr Trump blamed his predecessors for “trillions of dollars in waste and green energy scams”, saying “it was them that caused the affordability — to use their word — crisis”.
“I’m bringing the prices way down, way, way down,” he said.
Mr Trump claimed food and “almost every other item” were rapidly becoming cheaper, while acknowledging oil remained an exception.
The price of oil, he said, would go down when “we win the war with Iran”.
Mr Trump has previously urged Americans to tolerate higher petrol prices as the price of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and has repeatedly insisted Tehran is being defeated.
His latest comments come as renewed hostilities around Hormuz threaten to push energy costs even higher.
For Mr Trump, however, the message remains one of impending victory: defeat Iran, secure Hormuz and bring oil prices crashing back down.
