- Donald Trump claimed the US hit 5,000 targets in Iran since the war began last month
- He recounted a chat with a military official and said he had asked why the ships were sunk and not captured
- "He said, 'It's more fun to sink them'," the US President said
President Donald Trump has claimed the US had hit 5,000 targets in Iran since the war in the Middle East began last month and that the country's missile capability was down to 10%.
Speaking during the Republican Members Issues Conference in Florida on Monday, he claimed that the US military sank 46 "top-of-the-line" Iranian naval ships over three and a half days.
Trump also recounted a conversation with a US military official and said he had asked why the ships were sunk and not captured.
"Iran's drone and missile capability is being utterly demolished. The Navy is gone. It's all lying at the bottom of the ocean. 46 ships, can you believe it? In fact I got a little upset with our people. When I said, 'What quality of ship?'. They said, 'Excellent, Sir. 'Top-of-the-line'. I said, 'Why didn't we just capture the ships?' We could use it. Why did we sink them?'," Trump said.
"He said, 'It's more fun to sink them'," the US President told Republican lawmakers, evoking laughter.
"They like sinking them better. They say it's safer to sink them. I guess it's probably true," he added.
He said the US "took a little excursion" to the Middle East "to get rid of some evil".
"And I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion," he said.
Trump said the US military "will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated".
Trump's Warning To Iran
Donald Trump later threatened to escalate the war with Iran if it blocked oil shipments from the Middle East.
"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," he posted on social media.
"Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again - Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen! This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait. Hopefully, it is a gesture that will be greatly appreciated," he said.
In response, Iran said it would not allow "one liter of oil" to leave the region if attacks from the United States and Israel continue.
"We are the ones who will determine the end of the war," an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson said, according to state media.
The Iran-Israel-US conflict has sent stock markets slumping and oil prices soaring.
The war broke out on February 28 when the American and Israeli militaries launched joint strikes on Iran, killing 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Tehran, which appointed Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, as the new supreme leader on Monday, has also been firing a barrage of missiles at Israel and its Gulf neighbors -- Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE -- that host American military bases.
The war spread to Asia last Wednesday as the US sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, killing about 80 people. The warship, IRIS Dena, had been on a friendly visit to India when it was hit.
