Trump repeats his usual claims about how well the war is going and how well the US military is doing (“unbelievably well”, he says), and celebrates the “very historic” rescue of the second crew member of the US F-15 fighter jet downed over Iran last week.
Turning to his latest deadline for Tehran to open the strait of Hormuz (8pm ET on Tuesday), he adds:
The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.
Going back to the “massive operation” that was mobilised to rescue the stranded second airman, Trump says he ordered US armed forces to do whatever was necessary to bring him home. “We leave no American behind,” he says.
Both members of the crew ejected from the aircraft, and landed on Iranian soil, he says.
Rescue teams were under “very heavy enemy fire” and a helicopter now has “bullets in it”, he says.
“The flight crews and war fighters aboard those aircraft took extraordinary risks to rescue their fellow service members,” the president adds, noting that the second airman was injured “quite badly” and “stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”.
The airman scaled cliff faces while bleeding profusely to transmit his location, Trump says.
He says that as part of the rescue mission the military deployed 155 aircraft, four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refuelling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft.
He says they exited the territory with the airman, who had been stranded for almost 48 hours, without taking any casualties.
We are the most powerful military anywhere in the world by far.
Trump is once again angry at news media, and says US authorities are trying to identify the journalist who “leaked” information that a second airman was stranded in Iran after the first one was rescued.
He says Iran wasn’t aware of the status of the second pilot prior to the report, which made the US rescue operation “much more difficult”.
Trump says US authorities would demand the media company that published the story to provide the identity of the “leaker” – whom he called “a sick person” – or face prosecution.
We’re looking very hard to find that leaker. We think we’ll be able to find it out because we’re going to go to the media company that released it and we’re going to say: ‘National security – give it up or go to jail’.
It isn’t clear which publication Trump is threatening.
US forces had to leave cargo planes behind that got stuck on the ground after rescuing the airman, Trump acknowledges, owing to the “sand, wet sand”.
But rather than let Iran get hold of the aircraft, the US military “blew [the planes] up to smithereens”.
The search-and-rescue forces were then removed by “faster, lighter planes”, he says.
Oil prices have begun to rise since Trump began his address. US crude oil leapt from $112 to about $114 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, which had been roughly flat for the day, rose too.
Trump repeats his usual claims about how well the war is going and how well the US military is doing (“unbelievably well”, he says), and celebrates the “very historic” rescue of the second crew member of the US F-15 fighter jet downed over Iran last week.
Turning to his latest deadline for Tehran to open the strait of Hormuz (8pm ET on Tuesday), he adds:
The entire country can be taken out in one night, and that night might be tomorrow night.
Going back to the “massive operation” that was mobilised to rescue the stranded second airman, Trump says he ordered US armed forces to do whatever was necessary to bring him home. “We leave no American behind,” he says.
Both members of the crew ejected from the aircraft, and landed on Iranian soil, he says.
Rescue teams were under “very heavy enemy fire” and a helicopter now has “bullets in it”, he says.
“The flight crews and war fighters aboard those aircraft took extraordinary risks to rescue their fellow service members,” the president adds, noting that the second airman was injured “quite badly” and “stranded in an area teeming with terrorists from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)”.
The airman scaled cliff faces while bleeding profusely to transmit his location, Trump says.
He says that as part of the rescue mission the military deployed 155 aircraft, four bombers, 64 fighters, 48 refuelling tankers and 13 rescue aircraft.
He says they exited the territory with the airman, who had been stranded for almost 48 hours, without taking any casualties.
We are the most powerful military anywhere in the world by far.
An on-time Donald Trump is speaking now.
Earlier, Iran submitted its response to a ceasefire proposal put forward by several countries and conveyed through Pakistan, according to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Iran’s 10-clause response calls for what it described as a permanent end to the war “in line with Iran’s considerations”, IRNA said.
Tehran’s other demands include “ending regional hostilities, establishing a protocol for safe passage through the strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of sanctions”, IRNA added.
Donald Trump is due to give a press conference at the White House shortly at 1pm ET, though he usually runs late. I’ll bring you all the key lines from that when it gets under way.
The press briefing room is packed with journalists, with many present noting it is far busier than usual, given the high stakes and huge international interest in the war.
Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has urged governments to “respect for the rules of war” after Donald Trump ramped up his rhetoric against Iran by threatening to rain down “hell” on Tehran.
“States must respect and ensure respect for the rules of war in both what they say and what they do,” she said in a statement. “The world cannot succumb to a political culture that prioritises death over life.”
She also said deliberate threats, in rhetoric or action, against essential civilian infrastructure and nuclear facilities must not become the new norm in warfare.
The ICRC statement referred to hostilities in the Middle East but did not name any governments.
Responding to a reporter who asked why the US was still at war with Iran, despite Trump’s claims that the US military had already “obliterated” the country, the president said: “It’s a big country. They can’t fight back. They have no capability. I mean, they have some missiles left, they have some drones left, but essentially they have no capability.”
The president also said he is not worried about concerns over targeting civilian infrastructure and called the shooting down of US aircraft last week “a lucky shot”.
Trump said Iran has not taken the chances he has given them to end the conflict.
Trump claims Iran would like a ceasefire because they’re “getting obliterated”.
Trump said that military action is ultimately helping the people of Iran because “they want to hear bombs because they want to be free”, in response to a question from PBS News’ Liz Landers.
Trump added that the only reason that Iranians aren’t in the street protesting is because “they will be shot immediately” by the regime, as opposed to the ongoing strikes by the US and Israel across the country.
“The Iranian people will fight back as soon as they know they’re not going to be shot, and as soon as they can get weapons,” Trump added. “If they had weapons … Iran would give up in two seconds because they wouldn’t be able to take it.”
The president also added that the regime had a “lucky shot” when it downed a US F-15 fighter jet on Friday, but said the rescue of the airman who sustained injuries was “incredible”.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
