US hit Iran again in tribute to three fallen service members: Trump

US President Donald Trump said that American forces had struck Iran again in honour of three US service members believed to have died while asserting that Tehran had suffered extensive military damage and no longer controlled the Strait of HormuzTrump spoke briefly to the White House press pool after stepping off Air Force One and before boarding Marine One ldquoWell we feel very badly but you know those great people those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weaponrdquo Trump said when asked about the service membersldquoIran has been very very badly damaged Theyve lost everything almost militarily Theyve got very little left Theyve got some missiles Theyve got some drones Theyve got some manufacturing ability not muchrdquo he said Trump asserted that the United States was now in control of the strategically important waterway through which a major share of the worldrsquos oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passldquoWe control the straight they dont control anything So well see what happensrdquo he said ldquoBut we hit them very hard again tonight and we did that in honor of the probably three Its probably three as opposed to two great patriotsrdquo Trump did not provide the identities of the service members or further details about the circumstances of their deaths during his brief interaction with reportersThe president also answered a question about a Qatari aircraft intended for use as Air Force One and its missile defence capabilities ldquoWell it has it has a lot and you know it has a lot of capability but as I understand it in about a month or so theyre going to send it to have it be maxed outrdquo Trump said ldquoSo theyre going to be sending it and theyll have it be maxed out Itll take about a monthrdquoTrump separately said he had spoken with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about smoke from wildfires in Canada drifting into the United States ldquoI told them I mean you got to stop these fires from coming in and you know poisoning our air Our air has been poisonedrdquo he saidldquoHave a good relationship with Mark Carney but you know we got to stop the fires up there If we can help them well help them But maybe they should pay us some damages or something or we should do some tariffsrdquo Asked whether he had tensions with Spain after its World Cup victory Trump replied ldquoNo I have no tension I have no tension with anybodyrdquoThe Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea is among the worldrsquos most important energy corridors Any military confrontation affecting the passage can disrupt shipping and place upward pressure on global energy prices with consequences for oilimporting countries such as IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever