President Donald Trump has stated that the United States will declare the Strait of Hormuz as U.S. territory once the U.S. finishes defeating Iran. Speaking Friday at a police academy rally in Garden City, New York, Trump said he would “pretty soon” designate the waterway as a territory of the United States, adding with a chuckle, “It’s true.”
The announcement comes as the administration struggles to conclude the war with Iran. Trump told the crowd of law enforcement officers that the conflict in the Middle East is far from over, stating, "We have to make a little journey to the Middle East because we have to put out a potential disaster, a potential very big fire, a fire like you've never seen." Regarding control of the strategic waterway, Trump asserted that "no ships get through unless we want them to."
Iran has responded by vowing that the strait “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian.” The tension follows U.S. and Israeli attacks that prompted Iran to close the Hormuz Strait, causing gas prices to soar; Trump told Americans to accept these higher prices.
While right-leaning outlets report the statement as a declaration of ambition and an escalation of control, left-leaning sources emphasize the uncertainty regarding whether the remark signals a formal new policy position or how seriously the president intends the claim.
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