Ambassador Waltz insists US making progress against Iran
The US Ambassador to the United Nations on Sunday said the Strait of Hormuz remaining effectively closed 50 days after President Donald Trump insisted Iran open the waterway is not a sign of weakness or failure.
Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Ambassador Michael Waltz told host Martha Raddatz: “I think we need to take a step back: 50 days to solve a 50-year-old problem. And, by the way, this is not the first time Iran has neither threatened nor actually done this.”
He added: “That’s why we’re now pushing for another UN resolution saying Iran can’t do this. No country can do what Iran does in international waterways.”
In a rather acerbic interview, Raddatz pressed Waltz on whether Trump’s threats from seven weeks ago were empty.
Waltz replied: “Martha, I have to step back. Something has happened. President Trump has imposed a blockade with our great US Navy, stopping Iran’s shipments and, more importantly, the entry of the empty tankers they need for storage. Now we see the Iranian economy in absolute freefall.”
The month-long ceasefire in the region has been tested in recent days due to drone attacks and missile launches against ships. Waltz does not say that these qualify as violations.
“From your perspective on the ceasefire, it’s up to President Trump as Commander in Chief to decide what constitutes a violation, when to return to military action or when to continue to give diplomacy a chance,” he said.
Speaking rejection after Waltz on ABC. Admiral William McRaven was suspicious of his reluctance to discuss the status of the armistice.
“Of course the ceasefire has been violated, Martha,” McRaven told Raddatz. “Anytime there’s an exchange of fire, then that’s a violation of the ceasefire. Now, I understand Ambassador Waltz’s stance. At the end of the day, it’s about hoping the Iranians accept the offer, and so, you know, we want to downplay these conflicts.”
