United States President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the US Navy stands ready to escort oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, a key Gulf corridor, as he defended the ongoing war with Iran. He claimed Tehran was preparing to strike first.
Trump has offered shifting explanations for the joint US-Israeli assault on Iran. The president, who once campaigned on ending America’s Middle East wars, has yet to outline a clear exit strategy.
The escalating attacks and Iran’s fierce retaliation have rattled the Middle East and unsettled global markets. Several shipping firms have avoided the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil routes, triggering fresh economic concerns.
Seeking to calm markets ahead of the midterm elections, Trump said US warships could step in.
“If necessary, the United States Navy will begin escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, as soon as possible,” he wrote on Truth Social.
He also directed Washington to provide insurance support for commercial vessels. US stocks pared earlier losses after the announcement, though crude oil prices continued to climb.
Facing mounting scrutiny over the justification for Washington’s deepest Middle East involvement in decades, Trump denied that Israel pushed him into launching the strikes.
His remarks appeared to contradict Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who said Monday that Washington acted after learning Israel planned to strike.
“I think they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen,” Trump said during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office.
“So, if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”
In his first public comments since Saturday’s operation, Trump claimed the joint strikes had largely crippled Iran’s military capacity.
“Just about everything’s been knocked out,” he said, adding that Iran’s navy, air force and radar systems were no longer operational.
However, Trump offered no clear vision for Iran’s political future. He said “most of the people we had in mind are dead” and warned that any successor to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, reportedly killed in Saturday’s strikes, could be equally hardline.
His position on regime change remains uncertain. Overthrowing Iran’s Islamic Republic was not among the four main objectives he outlined earlier.
One key goal, he said, was dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme. Senior US officials argued Tuesday that Tehran had stalled negotiations before the conflict.
“They basically could have been days or weeks away from a weapon,” a senior administration official said.
Trump added that it was now “too late” for fresh talks. Officials confirmed that negotiator Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner had no back-channel contact with Iranian officials since the strikes began.
Chancellor Merz voiced support for the US-Israeli action but urged a swift end, warning that the conflict was harming global economies.
While praising Merz, Trump criticised European leaders. He dismissed British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying, “This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” after London initially declined to allow US forces to use UK bases.
Trump also threatened to cut trade ties with Spain after its government refused similar requests.
