President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that American aircraft could fly over Tehran and “nothing will happen,” speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania ahead of the midterm elections. He said the U.S. is “doing very well” and would secure “a fair deal for everyone,” adding that the Iranian regime had agreed not to keep moving toward a nuclear weapon.
Trump also said 19 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz the previous day, which he described as the largest amount ever to move through the waterway. In a post on Truth Social earlier in the day, he wrote that, despite “false statements” and what he called “fake media,” Iran had agreed “fully and completely” to the highest level of nuclear monitoring “for the distant future, forever.” He said that if Iran had not agreed, there would be no further talks.
Trump added that, based on those concessions and other unspecified ones from Iran, he had agreed to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and not impose another naval blockade. He said U.S. vessels would remain in place in case the blockade needed to be renewed.
Meanwhile, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the agency will inspect Iran’s nuclear facilities. He said the priority is to verify the location of Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, noting that the agency has an estimate of where it is but that Iran should update it. Shortly afterward, Iran’s Fars news agency quoted a military source saying a limited number of ships are allowed through the Strait each day and that the number changes according to conditions. The source also said the strait had been closed in recent days because of “hostile actions by the Zionist regime” and alleged U.S. violations of ceasefire commitments, claims that contradict Trump’s remarks.
