Trump vows to hit Iran ‘hard economically’ as Tehran demands US leave region

WASHINGTON / TEHRAN, Aug 14: US President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington would hit Iran “hard economically” as the two countries struggle to reach an agreement to end the nearly six-month conflict. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also warned that Washington would impose measures against Iran that have “never been seen” as soon as next week.

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, called on the United States to leave the Middle East and accelerate its withdrawal. Speaking before Friday prayers in Shiraz, Azizi said the US presence in the region had brought “nothing but insecurity” and urged regional countries not to rely on Washington for their security.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he may soon declare the strategic Strait of Hormuz “a territory of the United States,” while reiterating that Iran would not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“Pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States,” Trump said during a speech at the Police Academy Center for Training and Intelligence.

Trump also said Iran would have developed a nuclear weapon if the United States had not carried out B-2 bomber strikes during the 12-day war in June 2025.

“If we didn’t hit them, you would have had a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding that Iran “is never going to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump further claimed that Iran still possesses missiles and drones but only a fraction of its previous stockpile. He said Iran’s missile manufacturing capacity was at “82 percent” and claimed that much of its production capability had been destroyed.

The US president also claimed that 159 ships were “right now at the bottom of the sea” and said Iran had 212 aircraft, asserting that “every one of their airplanes is shot down.”

Trump additionally claimed that Iran was facing inflation of 350 percent and said its currency was “of no value.”

He criticized The New York Times over its coverage of the Iran conflict, saying the newspaper had reported that “Iran is doing quite well in the war.” Trump rejected that assessment, saying the United States was “winning big with the Islamic Republic of Iran.”