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Trump Says Iran Wants Deal, Claims US Control of Strait of Hormuz

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US President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran wants a deal but not on the terms he considers necessary, as the US maintains its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump made the remarks while addressing members of the media at the White House.

"They want to make a deal, but they're not going to make the kind of a deal that I feel is necessary," Trump said.

Trump said Washington's objective remains preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, pointing to the damage from previous US military action involving B-2 bombers.

"Look, we're in there for one reason, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon... and they won't have a nuclear weapon," Trump added.

Trump said the US has imposed a blockade around the Strait of Hormuz and claimed Washington now has total control of the strategic waterway.

Trump also backed declaring the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, saying the US already controls the waterway through its blockade.

"We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory. We have total control over the strait," Trump said.

The US president said that Iran could be a "nuisance," as they put mines in the water, which causes risks for ships worth billions of dollars.

He added that the strait is open. "... the blockade has been very effective, and you know we're taking out... millions of barrels of oil a week," Trump said.

He went on to say that the Strait of Hormuz was open to vessels. "The strait is open, and the oil prices are coming down, and they will continue to come down unless we decide to do something far more drastic than we're doing," Trump said.

Asked about Oman obstructing efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said, "I don't think they'd behave very well, but we'd handle them very easily, just like we do other things."

Trump criticized South Korea for declining to help with the US operation in Iran, despite 39,000 US troops stationed there to protect the country from North Korea.

Trump also said European countries receive extensive US protection against Russia while contributing less to shared security, arguing that Washington should not continue to bear disproportionate costs for its allies.

"We spend hundreds of billions of dollars protecting Europe from Russia...," Trump said, adding that he wants greater fairness from countries benefiting from US security commitments.

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