Washington- US President Donald Trump on Tuesday expressed alarm over what he described as a worsening “humanitarian crisis” in Iran, accusing the Islamic Republic’s authorities of killing protesters while allegedly failing to pay significant parts of the country’s military. Trump said the situation had reached an unprecedented level and called for it to be stopped.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump claimed that large sections of Iran’s armed forces were not receiving their salaries, while protesters were being killed even when they were not actively demonstrating. He did not provide evidence or clarify whether he was referring to the thousands reportedly killed during protests in January or to more recent incidents that have not been publicly reported.
Trump’s remarks may also have referred to executions carried out by Iranian authorities against people arrested during the protests. Iran has continued executing some individuals accused of involvement in unrest or espionage.
Later, Trump made another announcement concerning the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. He said the US Navy had informed him that all naval mines in the international waters of the strait had either been removed or detonated. He warned Iran that any attempt to place new mines would result in the immediate and systematic destruction of the vessels involved.
Trump also said US Space Force capabilities were monitoring the entire waterway, as well as an underground Iranian nuclear facility known as Pickaxe Mountain and three other nuclear sites that he claimed had already been destroyed.
However, Trump had made a similar statement on August 18, saying that the Strait of Hormuz was open and that all mines had been removed or detonated. His latest remarks also come amid uncertainty over whether Iran had actually deployed mines in the strategic waterway.
Meanwhile, an oil tanker was reportedly hit and disabled early Tuesday by an unidentified projectile about 9 nautical miles (17 kilometers) northeast of Oman’s Ash Shishah, near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations.
