US President Donald Trump on Monday termed Iran a 'paper tiger' and urged nations dependent on the Strait of Hormuz to come forward and help the country to secure the key waterway.
Trump made the remark while addressing media at the White House.
Speaking about the ongoing operation, the US President said that Iran's campaign has been continuing in full force over the past few days and Tehran's anti-aircraft equipment have been decimated.
"We struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran, achieved a 95% reduction in Iranian drone attacks and over 100 Iranian naval vessels have been sunk or destroyed. We also attacked manufacturing plants for Iranian missiles and drones. We attacked Kharg Island and literally destroyed everything on the island except the area where the oil is. We left the pipes. We didn't want to do that, but we could do that on five minutes' notice. But for purposes of someday rebuilding Iran, we did the right thing."
Meanwhile, Trump once again also appealed to countries for their help to keep the strategically key shipping route open and ensure safe transit of merchant vessels.
The President stated that some (countries) are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't.
Claiming that multiple countries are helping secure the key waterway, but don't want their names revealed to avoid Iranian retaliation, Trump said, "I say it wouldn't matter whether you were targeted or not, because this is a paper tiger that we're dealing with. Now, it wasn't a paper tiger two weeks ago. It is a paper tiger now."
"We strongly encourage other nations whose economies depend on the Strait far more than ours. We get less than 1% of our oil from the Strait. Some countries get much more. Japan gets 95%. China gets 90%. We want them to come and help us with the Strait," he added.
Trump further stated that they have it (Strait of Hormuz) in very good shape. "We've already taken care of Iran, but now, because literally a single terrorist can shoot a missile, and it's fairly close range, because it is a tight area, which is one of the reasons they've always used that as a weapon. Iran has always used that as an economic weapon, and it's not going to be able to be used very long."
Meanwhile, targetting Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the President said that he should cut interest rates.
"He should cut them right now. They should have a special meeting. What better time is there to cut interest rates? Even a third-grade student would know that."
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