White House Backtracks on Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Rhetoric

According to the International Desk of Webangah News Agency, the Wall Street Journal, citing a U.S. official, reported that President Trump had not engaged in substantive discussions with his advisors concerning any plans to claim the Strait of Hormuz. The newspaper stated that his remarks at a campaign rally in Long Island lacked political validity.

This apparent retraction comes as Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s Deputy Head of the Judiciary for International Affairs, denounced the statements. “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, or an election speech,” Gharibabadi wrote on his personal page. “Iran neither fears threats nor is intimidated by displays of power.”