Trump says Gulf nations must pay US for Hormuz security, claims Iran sent "back to the Stone Ages"

Speaking to journalists in the Oval Office, Trump expressed that Washington should receive financial compensation for securing one of the planet's most strategically vital maritime corridors.

Later, in an interview with Newsmax, the US President noted that American strikes had severely undermined Iran's military power, stating, "Their power has been largely taken away."

He asserted that a significant portion of Tehran's naval and air assets had been obliterated. Trump stated, "Now, they have something left, but it's been largely taken away. As an example, their military had 159 ships. One hundred and fifty-nine ships are under the sea."

Furthermore, Trump maintained that Iran had been stripped of the majority of its aircraft, air defence assets and industrial weapons infrastructure.

Trump remarked, "They had 200 airplanes; their airplanes are all gone. Their radars are gone, their anti-aircraft is gone, their weapon-making capability is largely gone, about 84 per cent and, you know, it's largely gone."

The US President went on to argue that the persistent military campaign had radically transformed Iran's offensive threshold.

"So, they are a much different country than they were four months ago," Trump observed, adding, "In four months, we've brought them back to the Stone Ages, to a large extent."

While granting that Tehran still possesses minor military elements, the US President reiterated that these resources had been drastically scaled down.

Trump stated, "With that being said, they've got some missiles, and they've got a little capability, but they've been largely brought back into a different period of time."

He asserted his administration's unyielding position against Tehran's regional posture.

"Iran was the bully of the Middle East, and they weren't going to be bullying me," Trump said. (ANI)