U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to reporters as he left the White House before attending an event in the state of Baltimore. Trump made assessments regarding the ongoing political and military crisis with Iran. Referring to the resignation of former Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad last Sunday, the U.S. President said, "The Iranian Oil Minister resigned. He said, 'We have no economy, we have no oil, we have nothing.'"
Regarding the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, where international maritime traffic has been negatively affected by conflicts, Trump said, "A very large amount, millions of barrels of oil, have been moved in the last few days. Right now, we are shipping at the same levels as before the war, and sometimes even higher levels."
Regarding his program in Baltimore, Trump said, "We are going to a very special place; we are opening a very large shipyard today. Actually, we will be opening many shipyards next year. Our military is building faster than ever before."
The U.S. President also touched upon the upcoming midterm elections in the country, stating, "I think we will do very well. The rallies have changed things. We are telling people what the Republicans are doing."
Paknejad's resignation
Reports in the Iranian press did not provide any details regarding the reason for Paknejad's resignation. After Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accepted Paknejad's resignation, Hamid Bovard, Chairman of the Board of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, was appointed as the acting Minister of Petroleum.
Mehdi Tabatabaei, Deputy Head of the Communications Unit of the Iranian Presidential Office, told the press that Paknejad had resigned for personal reasons "a very long time ago." The Iranian official stated that President Pezeshkian accepted the resignation request upon Paknejad's persistent insistence.
News Source: 12punto
