President Donald Trump declared Monday that U.S. forces have devastated Iran’s military capabilities and are moving to secure the Strait of Hormuz, as American warplanes launched another wave of attacks against Iranian targets. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said the campaign has progressed rapidly, insisted Iran’s armed forces have been severely weakened, and maintained that Tehran will never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.

Asked how long the operation could continue and whether it risked becoming another prolonged U.S. conflict, Trump dismissed such comparisons and said the military campaign has produced swift results.

.@POTUS on Iran: "We're not going to put up with it. We are just going forward — we're attacking them tonight. We're taking out all their capability for anything having to do with the Strait… What they're doing is being very foolish, very stupid." pic.twitter.com/wkspzB3kcH

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 13, 2026

“Well, I think it’s going very fast. We’ve demolished their military. We’re hitting them very hard. We had a deal yesterday, or the day before yesterday, it was all done. And then they broke up that deal immediately because they found out there was something in the deal they didn’t like. And they’re wired differently, and we’re not going to put up with it. But we are just going forward,” said Trump.

He added, “We’re attacking them tonight. We’re taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the Strait, with the Hormuz Strait. And I think, in the end, we will end up just controlling the whole thing. And what they’re doing is being very foolish, very stupid. And they’ve treated people horribly. They’ve killed 52,000 protesters so far that we can determine. It might be more than that, but 52,000 protesters have been killed. And it’s a really terrible situation. But we’ll have it under control very quickly.”

When asked whether diplomacy remained an option despite the ongoing bombing campaign, Trump said negotiations were still possible even as military operations and a renewed maritime blockade continued.

“No, I never reached that conclusion [that a deal is not possible], but we’re hitting them very heavy tonight, as you know. We’re hitting them. We have tremendous amounts of ammunition. We have numbers that we haven’t had in years. And we’re hitting them very hard, and it’ll continue, and we’ll see what happens,” he said.

Trump also outlined the administration’s strategy in the Strait of Hormuz.

“But we’re knocking out all of their offensive capability, and we’re controlling the straits. We’re putting the blockade back. And it’s a blockade not for anybody but Iran. In other words, anybody doing business with Iran can’t go through. Everyone else will be able to go through. So, it’s a blockade. It’s a very strong blockade. The blockade was probably more effective even than hitting them, but I think the combination is the thing that really does it.”

Asked directly whether a negotiated agreement with Tehran remained within reach, Trump replied, “Yeah, I think a deal is possible, sure. I do.”

Rejecting suggestions that the United States was becoming bogged down in another endless war, Trump contrasted the current campaign with America’s lengthy involvement in Vietnam, arguing that the military had already inflicted overwhelming damage on Iran’s armed forces.

“Well, you know, we’re in Vietnam for 19 years. We’re here for four months. So, I think we’ve done a lot. We’ve knocked out their Navy in a period of one month. We knocked out their Air Force. Their Air Force is non-existent. We knocked out most of their missiles, most of their drones. We knocked out their drone manufacturing capability, about 92 percent. Their missile capability for manufacturing, we knocked out 89 percent. And they have a little capability, but they don’t have any capability for us. This is almost a military skirmish.”

Trump said Iran had repeatedly backed away from agreements after negotiations appeared complete, while criticizing previous administrations for failing to resolve the conflict.

“Now, with all of that being said, you have to get people that want to make something. We had a deal with them two days ago, and then they said, ‘oh, we can’t make that deal. We have to negotiate it further.’ And this is what they’ve done for 47 years. The difference is nobody negotiated like I do. And this should have been done by Bush and Obama and Biden and people before them, frankly. It’s 47 years. They’ve been ripping off everybody. And really hurting and killing thousands of people. So, they killed 52,000 protesters, but they killed many, many people with Soleimani, who I killed in the first term. Soleimani killed many people, many, many people. And not only killed, when you see a young former soldier walking around with no legs, no arms, a face that’s been horribly, horribly hurt, that was done by Iran. That was done by Soleimani. He was a person that was very evil. He was an evil genius. He was looking to take out a lot of our military installations in Iraq and Iran. And I got him before he got us.”

Trump reiterated that the United States would continue its operations until Iran could no longer threaten the region, while again insisting Tehran would never possess nuclear weapons.

“So, we have to do what we’re doing. And the strait is open. It will be open. We’ve cut down their capability very substantially. But they, you know, they’re going to fight for a while. Our military has done a fantastic job. And, you know, the bottom line, though, and I say it to everybody, and I say it as much as they want to listen, Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. If we didn’t bomb them with the B-2 bombers, they would have had a nuclear weapon long ago. One month. Within one month from the day we bombed them, they would have had it. If we didn’t do it, they would have had a nuclear weapon. If they had a nuclear weapon, Israel would no longer be with us. And the Middle East probably would no longer be with us.”

Describing Iran’s leadership, Trump said they are “stone cold crazy. They are crazy. And we’re not going to put it up.”

His remarks came shortly after the U.S. military confirmed that it had begun a third consecutive night of strikes against Iranian military targets.

In a statement, U.S. Central Command announced, “At 4:45 p.m. ET today, US Central Command began launching the third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, at the Commander in Chief’s direction.”

“These strikes will continue imposing a heavy cost on Iranian forces and degrade their ability to attack innocent civilians and commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement stressed.

Iranian news outlets reported explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas, followed by additional blasts on the nearby islands of Qeshm and Kish.

Earlier in the day, Trump announced that Washington would restore its naval blockade targeting Iran after the previous blockade had been lifted following a recently signed memorandum of understanding.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving,” he wrote on social media.

He added, “All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,’ but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World. The process and formation will begin immediately.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi responded online by acknowledging Trump’s remarks regarding compensation for securing the strategic waterway.

“POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service.”

He concluded by asserting Iran’s longstanding role in the region while objecting to the proposed fee.

“Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” he concluded.

{Matzav.com}