US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said his administration would have to look at the possibility of imposing secondary sanctions on China and India when asked about the issue during remarks in the Oval Office.
Responding to a question on proposed Russia sanctions, Trump said there was a "good chance" that a Russia sanctions bill would pass Congress. He added that lawmakers were considering expanding the legislation to include Iran and Hezbollah.
"There's a good chance the Russia sanctions bill gets done," Trump said, adding that "they might add Iran." He later said Hezbollah could also be included in the legislation under consideration by Congress.
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On whether secondary sanctions on China were being considered, Trump said the matter had "not yet been discussed."
Speaking about Iran, Trump claimed the US had significantly weakened the country's military capabilities.
"I think that what we've done to Iran is we've taken away almost all of their military capabilities," Trump said.
He also defended his earlier decision to ease pressure on Tehran, saying he had wanted to give Iran an opportunity to reach an agreement.
"I wanted to give them a chance at making a deal," Trump told reporters. "And they shot first, and that was a big mistake... because we have been knocking the hell out of them. They're very difficult people."
Trump also said he had "no regrets" about granting Iran sanctions relief, arguing that Washington had given Tehran an opportunity before tensions escalated.
On the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said no country should be charged a fee for transiting the strategic waterway, signalling a shift from comments he made a day earlier about imposing a 20% toll on ships passing through the strait.
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According to Trump, Gulf nations contacted him after those remarks and instead proposed investing billions of dollars in the US.
"They said, we'd love to do it a different way. We'd love to invest in the US with billions and billions of dollars," Trump said. "I don't like the concept of a fee."
He added that the US would welcome investments in exchange for helping safeguard the Strait of Hormuz. Trump made the remarks during a White House news conference alongside Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi.
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