President Donald Trump offered a blunt assessment Monday on Newsmax about who controls the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway through which about one-fifth of the world's oil supply passes.

"We do," Trump told "Greg Kelly Reports."

Trump's appearance came amid a third straight day of U.S. strikes against Iran as hostilities flared over Tehran's targeting of commercial vessels in the strait and U.S. assets in the region.

"We control it. They can make trouble. They can do things that are not nice, but we control it," he said.

"We've knocked out most of their radar, a lot of their ammunition, a lot of their weapon launchers, you know, the missile launchers. We've knocked out drones. We've knocked out missiles," Trump continued.

"And we control it. And we're going to keep doing it."

U.S. Central Command announced earlier Monday that the U.S. was resuming its blockade of Iranian ports, oil terminals, and coastal areas beginning at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday. The blockade will apply to any vessel regardless of the flag it flies.

The U.S. first imposed the blockade April 13 and lifted it after signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran on June 17.

"And we're putting our blockade ... you know, the blockade was a tremendous success. It was there for two months and nobody got through," Trump said.

"We're putting that there. We're going to let everyone get through, except if you're doing business with Iran."

Trump said Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia are much less afraid of Iran now following U.S. intervention "because they've been really neutered."

"Their power has been largely taken away. Now, they have some left, but it's been largely," he said.

"As an example, their military, they had 159 ships; 159 ships are under the sea. They had 200 airplanes. Their airplanes are all gone. Their radar is gone. Their antiaircraft is gone. Their weapon-making capability is largely gone," Trump continued.

"So, they're a much different country than they were four months ago. In four months, we've brought them back to the Stone Ages to a large extent," he said.

"Now, with that being said, they've got some missiles, and they've got a little capability. They've been largely brought back into a different period of time," Trump continued.

"Iran was the bully of the Middle East, Greg. It was the bully of the Middle East, and they weren't going to be bullying me."

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