United States President Donald Trump has said he could soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States, escalating his rhetoric over control of the strategically important waterway amid the continuing conflict with Iran.
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Trump made the remarks on Friday, August 14, during a political rally at a police academy in Garden City, New York, where he claimed that the United States effectively controls movement through the strait because of its naval blockade of Iran.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said, drawing cheers from the gathering.
“It’s true,” he added.
Trump argued that the presence of the United States Navy and its blockade had effectively placed shipping through the waterway under Washington’s control.
“Essentially, that’s what we have. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” he said.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump’s statement represented a formal change in United States policy or was another escalation in his rhetoric over the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world’s most important maritime routes for the transportation of oil, liquefied natural gas and other commodities.
The United States and Israel launched military action against Iran on February 28, with Washington saying its objectives included ending Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme and encouraging political change inside the country.
Iran subsequently retaliated and has asserted control over much of the Strait of Hormuz, restricting access by some commercial vessels.
The United States has responded with a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports as part of efforts to weaken Tehran economically and restrict its ability to export oil.
Trump maintains that Washington has opened the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels other than Iranian shipping and that the blockade is having a severe impact on the Iranian economy.
Iran has rejected that account, maintaining that the waterway remains under its “complete management and control” and that commercial vessels cannot pass through without its permission.
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, swiftly rejected Trump’s latest territorial claim.
“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech,” Gharibabadi said.
“Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power.”
Tensions around the waterway have increased since a memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran aimed at negotiating an end to the conflict collapsed in July.
Iran subsequently resumed attacks on vessels it alleged were passing through the Strait of Hormuz without permission.
The United Arab Emirates also blamed Iran for drone strikes on two tankers travelling through the waterway on August 13.
Tehran’s position and Washington’s naval blockade have left the two countries locked in a dispute over who effectively controls passage through the strait.
United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the US military has sufficient capacity to maintain its naval presence and blockade in the region indefinitely.
“Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters during a visit to Panama on August 13.
Trump also used his New York address to defend his decision to attack Iran despite the increase in fuel prices experienced by Americans since the conflict began.
National petrol prices have remained above $4 per gallon, creating political pressure for Republicans ahead of the November midterm elections.
Trump said Americans should accept the additional cost because, in his view, preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon justified higher fuel prices.
“For you to pay a tiny, little bit more for your gasoline, just remember,” Trump said, it was necessary so that “a very evil country” could not obtain a nuclear weapon.
“When you have to pay a little bit more, you’re at $4, it’s OK. I mean, I will never apologise. I did the right thing,” he said.
“You just have to remember that what we’re doing is a great service for the world.”
The remarks represented one of Trump’s strongest assertions yet regarding American control of the Strait of Hormuz.
However, he did not explain what legal or diplomatic mechanism the United States could use to declare the international waterway American territory, nor did he provide a timetable beyond saying such a declaration could come “pretty soon.”
Iran, meanwhile, continues to reject Washington’s claim of control and insists that American military power does not confer sovereignty over the strait.
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