US President Donald Trump has said Washington will take over the Strait of Hormuz as US territory after what he described as the defeat of Iran…reports Asian Lite News Desk
US President Donald Trump has said the United States will take over the Strait of Hormuz as US territory “pretty soon” after defeating Iran, escalating his rhetoric over the strategically vital waterway at the centre of the ongoing conflict.
“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 on Friday.
Trump claimed that the Strait had effectively already become a US territory because of the American blockade on shipping.
“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” he said.
The President also argued that US actions in the Strait were benefiting the international community.
“What we’re doing is a great service for the world, not only for ourselves,” he said.
Trump had hinted at the possibility of taking control of the waterway earlier this week. On Wednesday, he wrote on Truth Social: “The USA has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT”!
The remarks come as shipping through the 170-kilometre Strait remains severely restricted amid the confrontation between Washington and Tehran. Trump had said on August 3 that the waterway would be “open literally” the following day, but shipping has remained largely stalled.
Media reports said only nine ships passed through the Strait on Friday as the standoff continued, with Washington maintaining a blockade and Iran attacking ships. Two vessels were reportedly hit on Thursday.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi rejected Trump’s claim, describing the proposed takeover as “fantasies”.
“This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” he said.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes. Its disruption has raised concerns over global oil and gas supplies and contributed to higher fuel prices.
Trump defended the economic impact of the conflict during a speech at a police academy in a New York suburb on Long Island, where he appeared alongside his party’s candidate for the state’s governorship.
Rising petrol prices have become a political issue ahead of the November mid-term elections, with Democrats making what they describe as an “affordability crisis” a central campaign theme.
Trump said Americans should accept higher fuel costs as the price of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a — really, it’s the No. 1 state sponsor of terror in the world — we don’t want them to have a nuclear weapon,” he said.
The average US petrol price stood at $1.08 per litre on Friday, while Brent crude rose to around $88 a barrel, up about 5 per cent for the week.
Any move to formally incorporate the Strait into US territory would face major legal, diplomatic and practical obstacles. The waterway includes territorial waters belonging to Iran, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, alongside international waters.
Such a move would require agreements with Oman and the UAE and would raise major questions under international law, while control of Iranian coastal waters would also have significant military implications.
Trump has previously made territorial expansion a prominent part of his foreign policy rhetoric. During his second term, he has repeatedly discussed making Canada a US state and sought control of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
