{"id":376152,"date":"2026-04-01T08:36:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376152\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T08:36:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T08:36:10","slug":"trump-says-securing-strait-of-hormuz-is-not-for-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/376152\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump says securing Strait of Hormuz is \u2018not for us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Donald Trump said securing the Strait of Hormuz is \u201cnot for us\u201d and estimated that the US will be done attacking Iran in two to three weeks.<\/p>\n

Trump said the US \u201cwill not have anything to do with\u201d what happens in the strait, instead telling reporters that the responsibility for keeping the vital waterway open will rest with countries that rely on it.<\/p>\n

The president said there is \u201cno reason for us to do this\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"POLITICS(PA Graphics)<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not for us. That\u2019ll be for France. That\u2019ll be for whoever\u2019s using the strait,\u201d Mr Trump said.<\/p>\n

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump lashed out at US allies such as the United Kingdom and France for not doing more to support the American efforts in the Iran war.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won\u2019t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren\u2019t there for us. Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He singled out France for not letting planes fly over French territory while taking military supplies to Israel.<\/p>\n

Spain, which has emerged as Europe\u2019s loudest critic of the war, said on Monday that it had closed its airspace for US planes involved in the conflict.<\/p>\n

The White House said the president would deliver a prime-time address on Wednesday evening to update the public on the war.<\/p>\n

\"IsraelFirefighters try to extinguish a fire at a damaged workshop struck by an Iranian missile in Petah Tikva, Israel. Photo: AP Photo\/Oded Balilty.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has acknowledged receiving direct messages from US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Al Jazeera aired late on Tuesday, he said: \u201cI receive messages from Witkoff directly, as before, and this does not mean that we are in negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not have any faith that negotiations with the US will yield any results. The trust level is at zero.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about a possible ground offensive by the US, Mr Araghchi said \u201cwe are waiting for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know very well how to defend ourselves,\u201d he told the Qatar-based broadcaster. \u201cIn a ground war, we can do it even better. We are completely ready to confront any sort of ground attack. We hope they do not make such a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israel said early on Wednesday it struck a plant supplying Iran\u2019s theocracy with fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid, to allegedly use in a chemical weapons programme. Iran acknowledged the strike on Tofigh Daru factory, but insisted it only supplied \u201chospital drugs\u201d used in medical operations.<\/p>\n

The strike happened on Tuesday, both the Israelis and the Iranians said.<\/p>\n

Mr Araghchi posted a picture of the factory in Tehran, writing on X: \u201cThe war criminals in Israel are now openly and unashamedly bombing pharmaceutical companies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The war criminals in Israel are now openly and unashamedly bombing pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n

Their intentions are clear. <\/p>\n

What they’ve gotten wrong is that they’re not dealing with defenseless Palestinian civilians. Our Powerful Armed Forces will severely punish aggressors. pic.twitter.com\/wh2FZUldR7<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) March 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Israeli military said early on Wednesday that it had killed a senior Hezbollah commander and another senior leader in two separate strikes in the Beirut area.<\/p>\n

Military officials said they launched strikes targeting what they described as Hezbollah infrastructure in the Lebanese capital.<\/p>\n

Defence minister Israel Katz said Israel plans to control the area south of the Litani River, 20 miles north of the border.<\/p>\n

Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah began launching missiles into northern Israel days after the outbreak of the wider war. Many Lebanese fear another prolonged military occupation.<\/p>\n

Two people were killed and three were injured very early on Wednesday when a strike hit a car in the Khaldeh area south of the capital, Lebanon\u2019s health ministry said.<\/p>\n

A drone attack by Iran and its allies hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The state-run KUNA news agency said the attack early on Wednesday sparked a \u201clarge fire\u201d at the airport.<\/p>\n

It said there were no immediate injuries from the attack and firefighters were working to control the blaze.<\/p>\n

\"RescueRescue workers check the site of Israeli airstrikes, in Beirut, Lebanon, early on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. (AP Photo\/Hussein Malla)<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, the United Arab Emirates has barred Iranians from entering or transiting the country as the war rages, three major airlines said.<\/p>\n

The long-haul carriers Emirates and Etihad, as well as the lower-cost airline FlyDubai, made the announcements on Wednesday on their websites.<\/p>\n

A tanker came under attack off the coast of Qatar early Wednesday, authorities said.<\/p>\n

The British military\u2019s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre announced the attack happened, saying a projectile slammed into the side of the ship.<\/p>\n

It said no environmental damage was done and the tanker\u2019s crew was safe.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, a fully loaded Kuwaiti oil tanker came under attack off Dubai. Over 20 ships across the Persian Gulf have been attacked by Iran since the war began.<\/p>\n

Early on Wednesday morning, Saudi Arabia said it had intercepted and destroyed two drones in the previous hours.<\/p>\n

In Iran, authorities say more than 1,900 people have been killed, while 19 have been reported dead in Israel.<\/p>\n

Two dozen people have died in Gulf states and the occupied West Bank. In Lebanon, officials said more than 1,200 people have been killed, and more than 1 million displaced.<\/p>\n

10 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon, including four announced on Tuesday.<\/p>\n