Iran has dismissed claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump that he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States upon the conclusion of the ongoing war. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi ridiculed the assertion, stating that the U.S. has "no authority" over the crucial maritime passage.
Trump made the statement during a speech at a police academy on Long Island, asserting, "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."
In response, Gharibabadi wrote on X, "The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian. This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran's command." He added that the waterway cannot be seized by "tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech." Gharibabadi indicated that as long as Trump "will not accept the reality of defeat" and continues with his "delusions," Iran will continue to "enforce its blockade" of the strait.
Before the current hostilities began in February, the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, carried approximately one-fifth of the world's oil supply. The waterway is currently under the shared jurisdiction of Oman and Iran.
Trump has previously stated his intention to seize ownership of the strait as part of any peace deal. The U.S. has twice imposed a total blockade on the waterway, and Trump insists that any vessels passing through do so only with American permission. Last weekend, only six vessels transited the strait, a significant decrease from the roughly 140 oil tankers that would typically cross daily prior to the war.
Oil prices have risen since the conflict started, with crude prices increasing by 6% this week as hopes for a peace deal between the U.S. and Iran have diminished. Trump told Fox News that he would continue to "hit Iran's economy hard" and stated he did not care if the war concluded before the November U.S. midterm elections, where the cost of living is expected to be a primary issue for voters.
Earlier in the month, Trump remarked, "to the victor goes the spoils," and declared that the U.S. would impose tolls on ships transiting the strait once the war concluded. "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.
On Saturday, the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported that a vessel belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was struck by an "unknown projectile" in the Strait of Hormuz. No injuries were reported in the incident, which allegedly hit the vessel's hull.
