Donald Trump has declared the US has struck Iran “very hard, insisting the conflict is going “extremely well” while signalling he remains open to negotiations despite warning Tehran is not yet ready to strike a deal.
Speaking at the White House Correspondents’ dinner on Friday local time, the US President shifted from lighthearted comments to the escalating Middle East conflict, dismissing negative media coverage of the war.
“It’s all going extremely well. Don’t believe the fake news,” Mr Trump said.
The President claimed the US military had “hit Iran very hard” and that it no longer has Navy and Air Force capabilities.
“They have very few drones left, despite what you see,” he said.
He also suggested that Iran would “love to make a deal” but he doesn’t believe they are prepared to do so just yet.
“I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen,” he added.
His comments came after Saudi Arabia launched strikes on what it said were Houthi targets in Yemen after a Saudi vessel was attacked in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia’s Coalition Joint Forces Command said it carried out strikes on Yemen’s port city of Hodeidah on Friday, describing the operation as a “proportionate response” to the attack on the Saudi vessel.
“If the Houthi militia continues its hostile actions, they will be met with a response without leniency,” the statement said.
Coalition spokesperson Staff Major General Turki al-Malki labelled the Houthi attack in the Red Sea a “cowardly and reckless act” and said the port of Hodeidah itself was not targeted in the strikes.
However, Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah television reported a worker at a telecommunications building in Hodeidah was injured during the Saudi attack.
Earlier on Friday Mr Trump said the US was continuing discussions with Iran, expressing confidence Tehran was showing a greater willingness to negotiate.
“We are talking to them. I think they’re getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason, but we are talking to them right now,” the US President told reporters in the Oval Office.
“I think they are being by far the most serious that we’ve seen. But that doesn’t mean we get there.”
Asked who was representing the US in the talks, Mr Trump said: “Sort of everybody,” adding Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved.
The latest developments come as fighting in the region continues to threaten global shipping routes.
The Houthis, who control much of northern and western Yemen, have announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi Arabia. The move has prompted the kingdom to divert millions of barrels of oil each day via pipelines to the Red Sea to avoid Iran’s near-total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The war has increasingly focused on the region’s two critical maritime chokepoints — the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — raising concerns over global energy supplies and inflation.
The Houthis struck two Saudi oil tankers in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, sending oil prices up seven per cent to more than $US100 ($A143) a barrel for the first time since May.
Shipping insurance costs through the southern Red Sea also doubled for some companies on Thursday, although around half of the 18 vessels that transited the Bab el-Mandeb were still carrying crude oil, including two Chinese supertankers.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is reportedly exploring ways to revive stalled talks between the US and Iran following diplomatic efforts initiated by China.
Exploratory discussions took place during a visit by Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week — his second trip in 10 days — according to three Pakistani sources. They cautioned significant obstacles remain before any negotiations could resume.
The number of tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one on Thursday, the lowest level since May 7.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and his Omani counterpart also discussed maritime security and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz during a phone call, according to a statement posted on Araqchi’s Telegram channel.
Mr Trump warned on social media that Iran would be held responsible for any further attacks by Houthi forces.
“And major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” he wrote.
He also told Axios he was considering further military action against Iran.
“They haven’t received enough pain yet,” he was quoted as saying.
Iran’s health ministry said 59 people had been killed and 666 wounded since clashes with US forces resumed in late June. Iranian media also quoted the head of the country’s top joint military command as saying Iran would kill a US service member for every Iranian killed.
The conflict has claimed the lives of 18 US service members. The Pentagon said on Monday that 100 personnel had been injured since July 7, with 96 per cent having since returned to duty.
Iran’s military said it had targeted US military equipment depots at Camp Buehring in northern Kuwait, as well as US positions at Camp Arifjan and Camp Doha near Kuwait City. Kuwait later said its air defences had intercepted “hostile” targets launched from Iran.
with Reuters
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