Washington, March 18 (IANS) The United States is intensifying coordination with allies in Europe and the Gulf as it moves to secure maritime routes and reopen key shipping lanes, the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday.

Responding to questions on maritime security and efforts to reopen key shipping routes, Leavitt said that Washington was working closely with partners. “The President is going to continue to talk to our allies, both in Europe and also in the Gulf of the Arab region,” she said.

She stressed that the US military retains significant operational capability as tensions persist. “The United States military has a lot of capabilities, as you have seen play out over the last 18 days. They do, still do, have tricks off their sleeve,” she said, while declining to provide specifics. “Rest assured, there is a plan… we have seen some progress with respect to that.”

Leavitt framed recent US actions as part of a broader effort to neutralise threats from Iran and prevent escalation. “120 naval vessels are at the bottom of the sea because of our United States Armed Forces. That’s a great thing,” she said, adding the operations were intended to ensure “Iran cannot permanently, permanently cannot possess a nuclear weapon.”

She said the administration’s immediate focus was on protecting US interests and forces. “We’re in a place right now where we’re ensuring that Iran can no longer target the United States. The United States military is doing a tremendous job,” she said.

On diplomatic engagement, Leavitt confirmed that a planned presidential trip to China had been postponed, with both sides working to reschedule. “We’re working with them. They have agreed to postpone the trip,” she said. “The President has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to… so we’ll get the dates on the books as soon as we can.”

The Press Secretary also addressed Joe Kent’s resignation as the top counterterrorism official in protest against the Iran war and pushed back against criticism of the administration’s decision-making.

“The President gave Joe Kent a chance… a guy with good military experience. And unfortunately, he was not up for the job,” she said.

She sharply criticised Kent’s resignation letter, calling its claims unfounded. “It’s deeply disappointing… that he would resign with a letter filled with falsehoods, accusing the President of the United States by being controlled by a foreign country — that’s both insulting and laughable,” she said.

Leavitt underscored that the US President’s decisions were based on national interest. “The President is the leader of the most powerful country [and] military in the world. Nobody tells him what to do,” she said.

Defending the administration’s stance on Iran, she said intelligence assessments supported the view that Tehran posed a significant threat. “We don’t want somebody leading the Counterterrorism Task Force who cannot agree that the number one state sponsor of terror in this world did not pose a threat to the United States,” she said.

She added that Iran was “building ballistic missiles at a rapid rate to build a shield of immunity so they could build a nuclear bomb,” and said the President’s decision to strike was aimed at pre-empting attacks on US personnel and assets.

“It’s backed by intelligence… and it’s backed by the fact that the president of the United States made the decision to attack Iran before they could attack American troops and our assets and bases in the region,” she said, calling it “a good decision… for the rest of the world.”

–IANS

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