“You Have To Pay More, It's Okay”: Trump Backs Gas Price Rise On Face Of Iran’s Defiance

US President Donald Trump has defended Washington's military action against Iran, saying the US strikes prevented Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Trump said Iran would have obtained a nuclear weapon had the US not used B-2 bombers to strike the country, and insisted that Tehran would never be allowed to develop one.

Trump, while delivering remarks on Friday (local time) also acknowledged that Americans could face higher gasoline prices as a consequence of the conflict, but said the cost was justified to prevent Iran, which he described as the world's “number one state sponsor of terror”, from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Trump Says Higher Gas Prices Are Price Worth Paying

Trump claimed Iran would have obtained a nuclear weapon if the US had not attacked. He specifically credited the B-2 bomber strikes with preventing that outcome.

“We can't let Iran keep going. They would have had a nuclear if we didn't hit the B2 bombers. If we didn't hit them, you would have had a nuclear weapon and it would have been a very sad day for this country and for the entire world. They're never going to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.

Trump acknowledged Americans could pay more for gasoline. He referred to prices reaching around $4. He argued that consumers should accept higher prices because of the objective of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

“So for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country really it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. We don't want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4. It's okay. I mean, it's I'll never apologize. I did the right thing,” he said.

Iran Remains Defiant

Kazem Gharibabadi, Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs of Iran, insisted that the Strait of Hormuz will be closed and reopened only under Iran’s command.

He said, “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or an election speech. This strait will be closed and reopened only under Iran’s command.”

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz appeared to grind to a near standstill on Friday after two more vessels were attacked in the strategic waterway, while the United States said it could maintain a naval blockade of Iran indefinitely.

The latest attacks came as Washington prepared further economic measures against Tehran and efforts to revive a June agreement remained stalled. According to Reuters, a senior Iranian source said on Wednesday that there had been no progress in talks to build on the June agreement to end the war. Since the ceasefire renewed under that deal broke down, Iran has resumed attacks on ships it accuses of trying to transit the strait without its permission.