President Donald Trump declared that the United States must bring its confrontation with Iran to a conclusion, warning that Washington would choose between a gentle path and a harsher one. "We have to finish the matter, and the only question is in what way we want to do it: the pleasant way or the less pleasant way," Trump said. "You will find out very soon."
The remarks, delivered in a series of statements on the Islamic Republic, were carried by the Abu Ali Express channel and could not be independently verified.
Trump stated that world leaders have been calling to thank him for what he described as "the war on Iran." His response, he said, is to ask them when they intend to pay for it. "We are carrying the whole world on our shoulders," he added.
He then turned to the strategic waterway at the center of the standoff. "The Strait of Hormuz belongs to the United States of America," Trump declared.
