Trump hints at new blockade on Iran, threats of attack

President Donald Trump has said the US might think about putting a naval blockade back on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. He also mentioned possibly taking over Kharg Island. These actions could restart the war between the two countries and affect the global economy badly.

The US lifted the naval blockade last month after Iran and the US signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to end the long fight. This war caused global oil prices to rise. Oil prices went from over $100 per barrel during the war to around $70 per barrel since the MoU was signed.

Mr Trump also warned of a US attack on Iran, saying that the Central Command would "hit Iran very hard." He said, "We’re going to hit them hard tonight, but we’ll see how it all works out," while speaking to reporters in Ankara, Turkey, before the NATO summit.

On Tuesday night, the US military attacked Tehran in response to Iranian attacks on commercial ships. NATO chief Mark Rutte said the American strikes were "absolutely necessary" since Iran was "basically violating the ceasefire."

After the US strikes, which they claimed targeted 'over 80' Iranian facilities, Iran retaliated with missile strikes on '85' US facilities in the Gulf region. This exchange of attacks is not the first since both countries signed the agreement on June 17.

Hours after the strikes, Mr Trump announced that the ceasefire agreement with Iran was over. He called Iran’s leaders "scum" and "cuckoo." On the naval blockade, he said this would only affect Iran. He also mentioned that US allies in NATO would send minesweepers to the Strait of Hormuz.

"Anybody else can have whatever they want, of course," he added. He noted, "They’ll [Iran] drop some mines if they can ... but it’s hard because we’re taking out those little boats now with the same weapon we use to take out the drug lords."

Mr Trump also said the US had ended its temporary suspension of sanctions on Iranian oil sales. He blamed Iran for the recent rise in attacks. But Iran claimed they fired at the ships because their movement on the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz went against the MoU with the US.

The American leader also mentioned that Iranian leaders were worried the US would attack during Ali Khamenei’s burial and had asked for a "timeout." He said, "They asked for a timeout; they wanted to go to the funeral of Khamenei, and I said give it to them, and they started shooting missiles."

"I mean, it was a crazy thing. Now we did kill him, so I guess you have to look at it that way," he admitted. "They also asked that we not kill them, and we said we’re not going to kill you" during the funeral.