The White House lashed out Thursday against “leakers” who said the U.S. is running short on munitions, hoping to maintain pressure on Iran as it negotiates the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Mr. Trump vowed to prosecute individuals who told the media that the U.S. military had exhausted nearly all its highly accurate long-range missiles during the five-month war with Iran.
“The U.S. has massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types. Additionally, large amounts are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. as needed,” Mr. Trump said on social media. “Defense companies are building the largest number of plants and factories in our country’s history.”
Mr. Trump projected strength while the U.S. sizes up an emerging deal between Iran and Oman that would regulate how ships transit the Strait of Hormuz, an oil chokepoint at the heart of negotiations to end the U.S.-Iran war.
The IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency reported on Thursday that the pending agreement between Oman and Iran would include a temporary framework that requires ships to enter through Iranian-controlled waters but leave through Omani routes.
That structure would only be temporary, however, with both lanes closed after an undetermined period and all traffic entering and exiting through the strait’s main waterway.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the agreement should not be construed as a full reopening of the strait, but a new model in which a significant portion of the shipping route would pass through Iran’s territorial waters, according to the state-affiliated IRNA outlet.
Clark H. Summers, an adjunct professor of government and political philosophy at Belmont Abbey College, said the U.S. is essentially seeking a return to the pre-war status quo.
“As long as Iran is not preventing neutral oil tankers from coming and going and is not collecting fees, taxes for safe passage,” he said, “the Trump administration can claim victory that all the stated official strategic objectives have been achieved.”
The U.S. side sees reopening the strait to normal traffic flow as a prelude to deeper talks on preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Mr. Trump said Thursday afternoon that the strait is “sort of open right now,” due to a U.S. naval presence and blockade of Iranian shipping, but he did not signal when a full breakthrough on free navigation might come.
”I’m involved in the negotiation,” Mr. Trump said in the Oval Office. “I think it’s going fine.”
Mr. Trump launched the Iran war, in cooperation with Israel, on Feb. 28 to curtail the regime’s nuclear ambitions. Iran retaliated by closing the Strait of Hormuz, leading to cycles of violence and diplomacy.
Stocks fell Thursday as investors seemed to tire of waiting for a deal on the Strait of Hormuz. Trump officials had predicted a deal by Wednesday, though the timeline seemed to slip during the week.
Prices for Brent crude oil, an international benchmark, rose above $80 per barrel again after sinking closer to $75 earlier in the week.
The U.S. average price of gas stood at $4.06 per gallon on Thursday, down nearly 4 cents from a week ago but a 36% increase from when the war started, according to the AAA motor club.
Mr. Trump said gas prices would recede “as soon as the war ends.”
“I think it’s going to end pretty soon, I don’t think they can go much longer,” he said at the Thursday afternoon White House event.
Democrats say Mr. Trump launched a war with no real exit plan, and any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz likely will not last long.
“How many days after you say the strait will open up will it close again?” said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, earlier this week. “When are you going to get out of the way and let real diplomats negotiate an end to this war that ensures the free flow of shipping through the strait?”
Mr. Trump says negotiations over the strait amount to Iran’s final chance to show it is serious about negotiating an end to the conflict. He’s threatened to bomb Iran severely if the regime does not keep its promises.
Maintaining the threat of force is key to Mr. Trump, so he reacted angrily to a Reuters report that said the U.S. had nearly exhausted its supply of Army Tactical Missile Systems and Precision Strike Missiles.
Each of the long-range missiles costs about $1 million.
During his speeches, the president boasts about building up the military during both his terms and accuses former President Joseph R. Biden of giving too much weaponry away to Ukraine without payment.
Mr. Trump repeated that line of argument on Thursday and said he submitted a supplemental request to Congress for more munitions because “we need more all the time.”
“We always want more, we have to have more,” Mr. Trump said. “We have literally massive amounts of ammunition.”
Mr. Trump said the persons responsible for saying the Iran war drained supplies would be prosecuted.
“The ‘leakers’ of these treasonous statements are being hunted down. Long-term jail sentences will be sought!” he wrote on social media on Thursday.
His press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, denied a Washington Post report that the president confronted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over shortages at a recent Camp David meeting.
The report said Mr. Hegseth blamed a deputy for the shortages and not keeping Mr. Trump’s apprised of the situation.
“I was at Camp David with President Trump and Secretary Hegseth,” Ms. Leavitt wrote Thursday on X. “This literally never happened, and we told the Washington Post that repeatedly. This B.S. story was shopped to many outlets by someone clearly out to disparage the Secretary, for whatever reason.”
Mr. Trump later posted a message in support of Mr. Hegseth, pointing to the successful raid to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and extradite him to the U.S. on drug charges.
“Likewise, Iran, where the country has been decimated for the purpose of not allowing it to ever have a nuclear weapon, is going very well!” Mr. Trump said. “Pete is highly respected within the Military, and has made tremendous improvements, including getting rid of DEI, and increasing recruitment to historic levels.”
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