'Don't try anything cute': Trump warns Iran against blocking Strait of Hormuz, says war 'pretty much over'

The president also said he has someone in mind to replace Khamenei, but declined to elaborate.

• Trump warns Iran against blocking oil flow in Strait of Hormuz
• US threatens harsher retaliation if Iran disrupts oil shipments
• Trump anticipates war's end but doesn't declare it over yet

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US President Donald Trump warned Iran against interfering with global oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran should not "try anything cute" and claiming the ongoing war is "very complete, pretty much". He, however, stopped short of declaring it over.

In an interview with CBS News late Monday evening, Trump said Iran had already fired most of its weapons and cautioned against any further escalation.

"They've shot everything they have to shoot, and they better not try anything cute, or it's going to be the end of that country," the president said. "If they do anything bad, that would be the end of Iran, and you'd never hear the name again," he noted.

Trump also suggested the conflict could conclude soon, even though he declined to say it would end within days. Asked whether the war could be over this week, he said “no,” but added that it would end “soon.”

The president said the United States could take strong action to ensure the vital oil route remains open. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil, has slowed dramatically since hostilities escalated.

“The strait is open now,” Trump said, adding that he is “thinking about taking it over.”

Speaking later to reporters at his Miami-area golf club, Trump said he expects the war to end "very soon," but warned that Iran would face significantly harsher retaliation if it attempts to block oil shipments through the waterway.

"If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far," he wrote on Truth Social. "Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them — But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen!", further noted the US President.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intensify strikes if Tehran disrupts the strait, a narrow maritime corridor between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula that is considered one of the world’s most critical oil chokepoints.

Asked about Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named to the post after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed early in the campaign, Trump said he had no message for him.

“I have no message for him. None whatsoever,” he said.

The president also said he has someone in mind to replace Khamenei, but declined to elaborate.