West Asia conflict highlights: "Don't rush me!" Trump refuses to set deadline for Iran; says US has complete control over Hormuz blockade

US President Donald Trump on Thursday local time said he would not set any deadline for ending the conflict with Iran stating dont rush me while claiming that Irans military capabilities have been severely weakened He also said he would not use a nuclear weapon in the conflictHe asserted that Iran is in a weakened position militarily and economically and said he is in no hurry to conclude talks adding that Tehran will not be allowed to acquire nuclear weaponsSpeaking to reporters at the White House when asked how long he is willing to wait until he gets a response from Iran Trump said Dont rush me I have been doing this for 6 weeks Their military is totally defeated They have boats running around with guns in them we will take them out too when we see them Their Navy and Air Force are gone Their antiaircraft is gone Their leaders are all gone Part of the problem is that they have lost their leadership and they are fighting like cats and dogs So who is going to control Soleimani was a brilliant general Probably we would not have been that far advanced had I not taken him outHe also criticised the previous Iran nuclear deal asserting that it paved the way for Tehran to develop nuclear weapons while claiming that Iran is currently under severe economic and military pressure and is seeking negotiations with the United StatesI ended the nuclear transaction that Obama made The Iran nuclear deal was so bad that it gave them a road to a nuclear weapon They cannot have the nuclear bomb and they are not going to have it We stopped because they wanted to have some peace We have a blockade that is 10037 effective They are not doing well economically and financially They want to make a deal We have been speaking to them but they dont even know who is leading the country They have been obliterated he saidTrump says US has complete control over blockade measuresUS President Donald Trump on Thursday local time said that the United States US has full control over its blockade measures against Iran calling them effectiveHe also said that Irans reported actions in the region including targeting multiple countries could be a serious mistakeThat is very top secret What we have done with the blockade is amazing and nobody gets through Nobody wants to get through nobodys trying We have complete control For Iran to shoot at Saudi Arabia UAE Qatar Kuwait Bahrain all the different places they shot nobody expected that They thought they would shoot at Israel at all fairness but you didnt expect they would be shooting at numerous other countries I think it was a big mistake If theyre putting mines down its a big mistake for them I will say Trump told reportersEarlier in a post on Truth Social Trump said he is under no pressure to end the conflict with Iran asserting that the country is in a weakened position militarily and economicallyHe added that any deal will be made only when it is in the best interest of the US and its alliesFor those people fewer in number now than ever before that are reading The Failing New York Times or watching Fake News CNN that think that I am anxious to end the War if you would even call it that with Iran please be advised that I am possibly the least pressured person ever to be in this position I have all the time in the World but Iran doesnt The clock is ticking The reason some of the Media is doing so poorly with Subscribers and Viewers is because they no longer have credibility the post readTrump says he would not use nuclear weapon against IranThe US President also said on Thursday local time said he would not use a nuclear weapon in the conflict with Iran stating that such weapons should never be used by anyoneWhen asked whether he would use a nuclear weapon against Iran Trump said Why would a stupid question like that be asked No I wouldnt use it A nuclear weapon should never be allowed to be used by anybodyFurther Trump said the US has a strong economy and sufficient oil supply and added that several ships are now heading to the US instead of the Strait of Hormuz amid efforts to curb Irans nuclear ambitions We have this unbelievable economy I called JD Marco Howard and Scott and told them that I hate to tell you but we have to do a little bit of a detour We have to go to Iran and make sure that they are out of nuclear weapons A lot of ships are coming to the United States and they are using the United States instead of the Hormuz Strait We dont have an oil shortage We are right now producing more oil than Saudi Arabia and Russia combined We are taking in millions of barrels of oil from Venezuela he saidHe also said the US has total control over the Strait of Hormuz and is deliberately keeping it closed to pressure Iran into a deal adding that he wants a lasting agreement and will not rush the process despite claiming significant progress I gave them a break I want to make the best deal I could make a deal right now Do you know that if I left right now we had a tremendous success It would take them 20 years to rebuild but I dont want to do that I want to have it everlasting What I am doing I cant tell you that I dont want to put that kind of timetable on it but it will go pretty quickly We will have the Strait opened up Right now we have it closed We have total control of the Strait he further statedUS aircraft carrier arrives in Middle EastThe USS George HW Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East the US military said Thursday bringing the number of the massive American warships operating in the region to threeThe Bush was sailing in the Indian Ocean in the US Central Command area of responsibility April 23 the military command responsible for the Middle East said in a post on X that included an image of the carrier with its deck packed with warplanesIsrael denies Iran attackAn Israeli security source told AFP on Thursday that the country was not carrying out airstrikes in Iran following reports in Iranian state media of blasts over the capital Tehran activating air defence systemsIsrael is not attacking in Iran the source said on condition of anonymityIsraeli strike kills 3 in south LebanonAn Israeli strike on south Lebanon killed three people the Lebanese health ministry said the latest attack despite a 10day truce in the IsraelHezbollah warThe attacks came hours ahead of the second meeting between Lebanon and Israels US ambassadors in Washington where Beirut is expected to ask for a ceasefire extensionWith ANI and AFP inputs