Trump says he will declare Strait of Hormuz a US territory

President Donald Trump declared Friday that he would "pretty soon" claim the Strait of Hormuz as "a territory of the United States," escalating his rhetoric over the strategic waterway as the U.S.-Iran conflict approaches its sixth month with no end in sight.

"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 with a chuckle during a rally at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence in Garden City, New York, where he was campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of November's midterm elections.usatoday+1

"We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to," he added.13wham

Iran Rejects Claims as War Grinds On

Iran's central military command on Thursday called Trump's assertions of control over the strait "baseless lies and fabrications," according to Anadolu Agency. Tehran posted on X that "the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and will not be reopened until Iran's conditions are accepted," including the removal of economic sanctions and release of frozen assets.aa+1

The reality on the waterway is contested. As of August 12, only about 3,371 vessels had crossed the strait in the 166 days since the war began on February 28 — roughly 20% of pre-war traffic volumes, according to data from Kpler cited by CNN. Shipping traffic fell to as few as eight vessels on a single day this week, compared with 130 to 140 before the conflict.rte+1

Trump did not elaborate on how the U.S. would legally claim the international waterway, and the move would raise questions under international law. Earlier Friday, he told Fox News ↘ 0.82% that the U.S. "totally" controls and "owns" the strait, describing the American naval presence as a "wall of steel."turkiyetoday+1

Gas Prices and Political Pressure

Trump also urged Americans to accept elevated fuel costs, with U.S. gasoline prices around $4 a gallon, as the price of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.washingtonexaminer+1

"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 nuclear weapon," Trump told the crowd. "I'll never apologize. I did the right thing."washingtonexaminer

The remarks came one day after Vice President JD Vance acknowledged domestic political pressure over elevated energy prices, and after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. would apply economic measures on Tehran that have "never been seen" as soon as next week. The International Energy Agency this week forecast that global oil supply would fall by 4.3 million barrels per day this year, up from its projection of 3.7 million just a month ago.anews+2

A preliminary peace agreement signed June 17 collapsed last month after Iran attempted to assert dominance over the strait and fired on commercial vessels. From July 8 to 24, the two sides exchanged military strikes, with Tehran targeting what it described as U.S. facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.nypost+1