Trump says US will guide ships out of Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said that Iran has to "cry uncle" and say, "We give up," when asked how long he is prepared to maintain the naval blockade.

"Militarily, we've wiped them out. They have no military left there," Trump said while taking questions during an Oval Office event with the Artemis II astronauts. "The Navy's at the bottom of the sea. The Air Force is never going to fly again."

"Now they have to cry, uncle. That's all they have to do," he continued. "Just say, 'We give up. We give up.' But their economy is really in trouble. It's a dead economy."

The Pentagon's comptroller, Jay Hurst, told members of Congress that the cost of the Iran operation so far has been $25 billion.

It's the first public accounting disclosed by the Pentagon.

"At this day, we're spending about $25 billion on Operation Epic Fury. Most of that is in munitions," Hurst said during a House hearing on the Pentagon's budget request on Wednesday.

-ABC News' Steve Beynon and Chris Boccia

President Donald Trump told Axios in a phone interview on Wednesday that he rejected an Iranian peace offer that would lift the naval blockade and open the Strait of Hormuz but delay nuclear talks.

The president told Axios he was going to keep Iran under the blockade until the regime agrees to a proposal that addresses nuclear capabilities.

"They want to settle. They don't want me to keep the blockade. I don't want to [lift the blockade], because I don't want them to have a nuclear weapon," Trump told Axios.

Trump told Axios he saw the blockade as "somewhat more effective than the bombing” and his primary source of leverage.

"The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing. They are choking like a stuffed pig. And it is going to be worse for them. They can't have a nuclear weapon," Trump told Axios.

The president added that Iran's oil storage and pipelines "are getting close to exploding" because Iran can't export oil due to the blockade.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Three members of Lebanon's Civil Defense were killed by Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday while trying to carry out a rescue operation, Lebanon's Civil Defense said.

Hussein Sati, Hadi Daher and Hussein Ghadbouni were all long-time volunteers with the Civil Defense, the service said. Sati is survived by two children, while Daher and Ghadbouni were both in their 20s.

The Lebanese Armed Forces said two of its soldiers were also injured in the same attack.

-ABC News' Victoria Beaule