Trump says US won Iran war, Iran responds : NPR -

President Trump said that the U.S. won the war with Iran but that the U.S. naval blockade would continue. Iranian officials responded on the sidelines of an international climate summit in Turkey.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

President Trump has said the war with Iran is on hold for now and that the U.S. won. He did, however, warn that the U.S. will maintain its naval blockade on Iran, and the U.S. military remained, quote-unquote, “locked and loaded.” How is Iran responding to his comments? NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi has been talking to Iranian officials attending the COP31 climate summit in Antalya in southern Turkey. And she’s with us now from there.

Good morning, Hadeel.

HADEEL AL-SHALCHI, BYLINE: Good morning.

MARTIN: So I understand that you’re just outside the conference center, so there may be some background noise. So who are the Iranian officials you spoke with? And what do they think about President Trump’s assessment of the war?

AL-SHALCHI: So they’re part of a delegation of over 80 people representing Iran here at COP31. That’s the U.N.’s annual climate summit where countries gather to negotiate global climate agreements. I sat with Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, a spokesperson for the Iranian delegation here, and he’s also a senior official with the city of Tehran. He, you know, quickly disagreed with President Trump. And he said, no, Iran won.

HAMIDREZA GHOLAMZADEH: They came here to overthrow the Islamic Republic, and they failed to do that. It’s very easy to do the math and to find out that they have been failed. And it turned actually into an opportunity for Iran to increase its power. And to, let’s say, unveil its power.

AL-SHALCHI: Gholamzadeh also said that while there is a lull in hostilities right now, Iran is prepared for the worst-case scenario should the U.S. and Israel attack again.

GHOLAMZADEH: The Americans and the Israelis turned this war into an existential war for Iran. So Iran has no other choice but to fight to the end, and to win this war. So another mistake would be a huge, bigger mistake from the previous ones.

MARTIN: You know, so President Trump said there was no need for a military escalation as long as talks were on the table. So do we know who is talking to whom? And what are they discussing?

AL-SHALCHI: I mean, there’s been a flurry of diplomatic visits from and to Tehran in the past few weeks between Iran and Gulf countries. You know, they are trying to stave off another war because what happens is Iran attacks U.S. bases on their land in retaliation to U.S. strikes. Gholamzadeh said Iran had the same message in those talks to the Gulf leaders that they always have had.

GHOLAMZADEH: If you are frightened from Iran, the Americans could not save you. If they close the American basins, the threats would be removed, and there would not be any reasons for Iran to attack those countries.

AL-SHALCHI: Gholamzadeh said that Iran is insisting on its conditions, which include an end to the U.S. naval blockade in the Strait of Hormuz and the release of Iranian frozen funds. Otherwise, negotiations won’t go forward.

MARTIN: Now, Trump has admitted that the rising price of oil that came with the Iran war is to blame for his party’s huge midterm losses last week. At least, he said that initially. Is oil moving more freely through the Strait of Hormuz now? And who is actually in control of that strategic waterway?

AL-SHALCHI: I mean, the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed by Iran. And Iran continues striking shipping vessels, but the oil is flowing. The U.S. is escorting some ships trying to cross the strait. And overall, regional exports have reached close to 90% of pre-war levels, according to analytics firm Kepler. But Gholamzadeh says that he doesn’t think that this costly U.S. naval blockade is sustainable.

GHOLAMZADEH: Iran is completely sure that it can close the Strait of Hormuz forever. But the Americans need to impose a ship (ph) blockade with presence of the naval forces here, and they are thousands of miles away from their homeland.

AL-SHALCHI: Iranian capability to sustain such a closure, you know, is doubtful as the country’s economy and military has suffered. You know, inflation is at 90% in Iran. But, Michel, it’s clear that even in this fragile pause, with both sides claiming victory, Iran seems to say it’s playing the long game.

MARTIN: That is NPR’s Hadeel Al-Shalchi in Antalya in southern Turkey. Hadeel, thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Accuracy and availability of transcripts for NPR programming may vary. Transcript text may also be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Please note that NPR platforms and products also include some programming produced by third parties; NPR cannot guarantee transcripts for that content and some transcripts may be produced using automated or other tools.

Source link