'YOU WON'T HAVE A COUNTRY': Trump FIRES BACK at Iran over Strait of Hormuz

[0:00] the top of the hour. Good morning to those of you just joining us. It is 9 a.m. on June 21st. [0:04] This is Fox and Friends. Just moments ago, Vice President J.D. Vance meeting with leaders from [0:09] Qatar and Pakistan in Lucerne, Switzerland, as peace talks are underway. Chief Foreign [0:15] Correspondent Trey Yngst is live in Tel Aviv with some breaking news and reaction. Hi, Trey. [0:22] Yeah, hey, guys. Good morning. I just spoke with President Trump for more than 20 minutes, [0:26] and he gave some new insight and reaction about the ongoing talks that are taking place in [0:31] Switzerland and the threats coming from the Iranian regime. President Trump telling Fox News [0:36] that the U.S. may take over the strait in the future if they have to and collect tolls. The [0:43] president described this as the United States being the guardian angel of the Strait of Hormuz [0:48] and the Middle East. And the president said ultimately that would involve the U.S. [0:52] taking 20 percent of the oil that passes through the strait. Remember, this comes [0:57] in reaction to the Iranians, saying they will close the strait of Hormuz in response to Israeli [1:03] strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. President Trump tells Fox News he spoke with Iranian officials [1:09] overnight and said you close it and you won't have a country. He went on to tell these officials [1:15] you won't even make it back to your effing country. Now, earlier today, Iran's president, [1:21] Massoud Pazeshkin, said this about Iranian enrichment of uranium. The president also [1:26] reacting to that. Take a listen. We will not give up our right to enrichment. And they, too, [1:32] will be forced to accept it. You all know what the so-called president of the United States was saying. [1:39] He had made a complete 100-degree turn. He was saying that Iran must surrender unconditionally. [1:45] Iran has no right to do this. It has no right to do that. [1:49] President Trump, during our call, responded directly to those comments by Iranian president, [1:56] Massoud Pazeshkin. President Trump told Fox News he better watch his mouth, [2:01] he better shape up, or we'll take over the rest of the country. [2:04] And so, clearly, the president reacting directly to these comments from Iran's president, Massoud Pazeshkin. [2:10] And also, President Trump talked about the broader memorandum of understanding, [2:14] indicating this is just a ceasefire extension. This is not the final deal with the Iranian regime. [2:19] And the president says he holds the cards and maintains a variety of options if the [2:23] Iranians don't make these serious commitments at the negotiating table. He said, I have a 60-day [2:28] option, and I can do whatever I want after that option. So, again, President Trump leaving a variety [2:34] of considerations on the table and says that the United States could become the guardian angel of [2:40] the Strait of Hormuz and collect tolls itself while taking oil, around 20%, the president says. [2:47] As it relates to oil, President Trump also said that 19 million barrels of crude oil exited the [2:54] Persian Gulf yesterday as a result of this memorandum of understanding with the Iranians. Guys? [2:59] So, Trey, as always, a fascinating report and fascinating interview you just had with President [3:04] Trump. When he says something like the United States will be the guardian angel of Strait of [3:09] Hormuz and that the United States reserves the option of taking 20% of the oil that passes [3:14] through there, is that a message as much to Iran as it is to other world leaders around the globe [3:22] that you need to participate in this and help us make sure that the Strait remains open to the free [3:29] passage of oil? Yeah, absolutely, because remember during Operation Epic Fury, President Trump called [3:36] on these other countries to get involved because the United States uses just a few percentage points [3:41] of its oil that actually comes out of the Persian Gulf, and these other countries didn't want to get [3:46] directly involved in securing this critical international waterway. It was only after the fact that they [3:51] actually were offering to help and send military reinforcements. It was the U.S. military, the U.S. [3:57] Navy specifically, that put that significant economic pressure on the Iranian regime by closing Iranian [4:03] ports. They were losing hundreds of millions of dollars every day. And again, this is what they [4:09] consider their leverage because they lost so much on the battlefield. They are looking again to the [4:14] Strait of Hormuz. And that is why you heard that statement from Iran's IRGC overnight, threatening to [4:20] close the Strait in response to Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon. And again, President [4:25] Trump tells Fox News, he told Iranian officials directly, you close it and you won't have a country. [4:30] Now, I also asked the president about the situation in southern Lebanon and the exchange of fire [4:35] between Israel and Hezbollah. Remember, five IDF soldiers were killed over the weekend by Hezbollah. [4:41] The Israelis responded with a series of airstrikes across southern Lebanon. The president told me he is [4:46] disappointed Israel can't put Hezbollah away. He went on to say they can't do anything without [4:51] knocking buildings down and that he is close to giving it to Syria. And he is talking about [4:58] empowering Syrian president, Dachma Dalshara, to actually go into southern Lebanon and fight [5:05] Hezbollah because the president believes that he would do a more precise job in terms of the way he would [5:12] deal with Hezbollah, not knocking down buildings, but fighting them on the ground. And so again, [5:16] the president expressed what we had heard from President Trump just a week ago, [5:19] his frustration or better put his disappointment with the Israelis and the way that they are [5:26] fighting Hezbollah. Remember, five IDF soldiers were killed over the weekend by Hezbollah in southern [5:30] Lebanon. But again, when we zoom out here, there's a lot on the table. And the president also spoke [5:35] about the situation in Gaza. He said at this moment, Hamas is not causing a lot of problems in Gaza [5:40] and that the process needs to play out with the ceasefire agreement there. And that he says the focus [5:46] should be on the agreement with Iran, because once Iran is taken care of, [5:49] many of these other issues will fall into place. [5:52] Yeah, the president, based on what you're telling me, clearly sending a very strong message to [5:57] Israel saying it's too brutal the way you're handling it. I think an al-Qaeda guy can do it [6:02] better, more precisely than you. Not a good look for Israel for sure in this. [6:09] We had on the president earlier, Herzog from Israel, who spoke with Griff, and he said, [6:16] he promised that they had no territorial ambitions in Lebanon or specifically in southern Lebanon, [6:23] which would indicate that when this is over, they're going to return the land back to the Lebanese [6:30] who have been displaced there. Now, we just saw J.D. Vance very diplomatically [6:36] handling things in Lucerne, Switzerland, and then your conversation with the president, [6:43] a lot more aggressive. Is this a case of good cop, bad cop? [6:47] I would say that the president is looking at the reality on the ground. And when the Iranians [6:54] are making statements about closing the Strait of Hormuz, first of all, we know that that's [6:59] propaganda, because international shipping data indicates that many vessels are still passing [7:03] through the Strait of Hormuz, this critical waterway. But the president clearly, he told Fox [7:08] News, wanted to send a direct message to Iranian officials, even telling those officials, [7:12] you won't even make it back to your country if you close the Strait of Hormuz. I think it's also [7:17] important to note the fact that so much oil actually made it out yesterday, 19 million [7:21] barrels, according to President Trump. That's a very significant number and an indication that [7:26] there are still vessels leaving the Persian Gulf. And this is not talking specifically about [7:30] Iranian ports. We're talking about these Gulf countries, allies of the United States. [7:33] And the president said there was such a backlog of oil that it's now gushing out of the Persian Gulf. [7:39] And you think about just how still things were in this region. And now that it is open again, [7:44] these vessels can actually export this oil. But I think really an important point here is what the [7:49] president is leaving on the table as it relates to the Strait of Hormuz. He says we may take over [7:54] the Strait, if we have to, I'll blow the S out of them. And he is talking about the fact that if [8:01] the Iranians try to close the Strait of Hormuz, not only will the U.S. open the Strait, they'll take [8:05] control of the Strait and be the guardian angels of the Strait of Hormuz and the Middle East, and then [8:10] ultimately take a percentage of the oil that is passing through. And again, this is an indication [8:15] that President Trump is signaling to the Iranians that are currently at the table in Switzerland, [8:20] make these concessions about your nuclear program, adhere to the memorandum of understanding, [8:25] or there would be serious consequences that would actually reverse what they are trying to do, [8:29] saying that if they don't make a deal, we'll collect tolls, the United States of America. [8:34] Right. But let me drill, Trey, quickly into exactly what Rachel is talking about, [8:39] the look of a good cop, bad cop, because when Iran's president, Przeskin, said that Iran will [8:45] maintain the right to enrich uranium, it flies in the face of the entire gold that Vice President Vance [8:52] just laid out on camera, a historic first time ever in history, Iran and the U.S. meeting at a high [9:00] level, advancing that if Iran will abandon their nuclear ambition, then they will receive a [9:07] fundamentally different relationship with the U.S. Does President Trump even have, he pretty much [9:12] has to tell the president of Iran, Przeskin, that he should watch his mouth, because he's starting [9:17] to derail this on the eve of it actually happening? Yeah, President Trump actually left open the [9:25] concept of a civilian enrichment program in the future for Iran. But remember, they're working out [9:31] the details of Iran's nuclear program that includes that buried, highly enriched uranium around 60%, [9:37] but also the rest of the program. And again, President Trump responding directly to the comments [9:42] from Iranian President Masoud Pazeshkin. I actually read him the text of what President [9:46] Pazeshkin said, and he responded saying he better watch his mouth, he better shape up, [9:51] or we'll take over the rest of the country. And so again, the president wants to keep things on course [9:55] here as it relates to these conversations that are taking place in Switzerland today. And the next [10:01] phase in all of this is the detailed discussions about Iran's nuclear program. It is a 60-day [10:05] window. And a lot of people have commented on this agreement and expressed opinions about what it [10:11] means. We have to look at the facts on the ground here. And again, according to President Trump, [10:14] the man who signed the memorandum of understanding, this is just an option. He says, [10:19] I have a 60-day option, and I can do whatever I want after that option. Clearly, President Trump [10:24] leaving both diplomatic and military options on the table if the Iranians don't adhere to their end [10:29] of the agreement. All right. Trey Yanks, great reporting, great getting a call in with the [10:35] president and bringing us up to speed. We'll continue to follow this. Trey, thanks.