On Wednesday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “The Story,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the president doesn’t see Iran’s seizure of two ships as a violation of the ceasefire because the ships weren’t American or Israeli.
Host Martha MacCallum asked, “I want to ask you about these ships that Iran seized. We’re continuing to get reporting on this. Does the seizure of two ships — as we said, they were Greek and Mediterranean-owned ships with cargo on them, and the reports are that Iran basically seized them and then moved them into Iranian waters. We don’t know what’s going to happen to these crews. We’re not sure where all of this is going. Does the president view that as a violation of the ceasefire?”
Leavitt answered, “No, because these were not U.S. ships. These were not Israeli ships. These were two international vessels. And for the American media, who [are] sort of blowing this out of proportion to discredit the president’s facts that he has completely obliterated Iran’s conventional Navy, these two ships were taken by speedy gunboats. Iran has gone from having the most lethal Navy in the Middle East to now acting like a bunch of pirates. They don’t have control over the strait. This is piracy that we are seeing on display. And the naval blockade that the United States has imposed continues to be incredibly effective. And, to be clear, the blockade is on ships going to and from Iranian ports. And the point of this is the economic leverage that we maintain over Iran now. While there’s a ceasefire with respect to the military and kinetic strikes, Operation Economic Fury continues, and the crux of that is this naval blockade.”
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