Iran has ridiculed President Donald Trump's assertion that he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory, with a senior Iranian official stating the waterway cannot be seized by tweet. The exchange comes amid ongoing hostilities that have impacted global oil supply.
During a speech at a Long Island police academy on Friday, Trump declared, "After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. We have control over it. Nobody else. Only us."
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, responded on X, writing that the U.S. has "no authority" over the strait. "The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," Gharibabadi stated. "This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran's command. The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech."
Gharibabadi added that as long as Trump "will not accept the reality of defeat" and continues to entertain "delusions," Iran will maintain its blockade of the waterway.
The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is currently under the shared jurisdiction of Oman and Iran. Before the current hostilities began in February, it carried approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to seize control of the strait as part of any peace deal. The U.S. has previously enforced blockades of the waterway, with Trump asserting that vessels passing through do so only with American permission.
Last weekend, only six vessels transited the strait, a significant drop from the roughly 140 oil tankers that typically passed through daily before the conflict. Oil prices have surged since the war began, with crude oil prices rising 6% this week as hopes for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran have diminished.
Trump told Fox News on Friday that he intends to continue "hit[ting] Iran's economy hard" and stated he does not care if the war concludes before the November midterm elections, where the cost of living is expected to be a major issue for voters.
Earlier this month, Trump remarked, "to the victor goes the spoils," and suggested that the U.S. would impose tolls on ships passing through the strait after the war. "We will take control of the strait and we will charge ships to go through it and we will make lots of lovely money," he said.
Iran reportedly launched a strike against an oil tanker in the strait on Saturday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre. A vessel belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was hit by an "unknown projectile," with no injuries reported. The strike allegedly impacted the vessel's hull.