President Trump on Monday called for Iran’s leaders to be prosecuted for “war crimes against humanity,” delivering a blistering assessment of the Islamic Republic as a “failed nation” amid continued fighting between Tehran and Washington and renewed tensions in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran is officially a Failed Nation. IT IS DEAD!” the president proclaimed on Truth Social. “They have no Navy, they have no Air Force, they have no currency, they are not paying their soldiers or police, Inflation is at 300%, and their leadership is in total disarray and incapable of properly representing the country.”

Trump then pointed to the Iranian regime’s violent suppression of anti-government demonstrations, while accusing Tehran of relying on propaganda and empty rhetoric.

“The only thing they have is FAKE NEWS from the USA, a willingness to kill their protesters (now over 100,000 people dead. They must be tried for war crimes against humanity!), and a good line of ‘[garbage].’”

Iran has faced accusations of massacring demonstrators who took to the streets against the regime late last year. Some estimates have placed the number of people killed at 30,000 or more.

Trump’s comments came on the heels of a new US military operation targeting rocket launchers on Iran’s Larak Island. The launchers were used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to deploy mines in the Strait of Hormuz, the strategically vital waterway that handled nearly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply during peacetime.

“U.S. forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X Sunday evening. “In essence, Iran created the threat and the U.S. military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce.”

Following the US strikes on Larak Island, Jordan said its forces intercepted eight Iranian missiles that had been fired toward American military sites inside the country. Officials said the Iranian attacks caused no significant damage.

Trump nevertheless promised a forceful response to the Iranian missile launches, telling Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst, “We’re going to hit them hard.”

CENTCOM announced last week that US forces had successfully removed mines from portions of the Strait of Hormuz and had been escorting and directing oil tankers through the critical shipping route.

Iran’s ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait has emerged as one of Tehran’s primary sources of leverage against the United States since the conflict began on Feb. 28.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright has said that approximately 9 million barrels of oil are currently moving through the Strait of Hormuz each day, a steep decline from the more than 20 million barrels that passed through the waterway daily before the war.

{Matzav.com}