President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a United States territory, stating, "Pretty soon, I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States... we have the blockade… no ships get through unless we want them to." Trump made the declaration during a rally in Garden City, New York.
The president also addressed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, describing it as a "potential disaster" that the U.S. must address to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. "We can't let Iran keep going," Trump stated, reiterating his administration's stance against Iran developing nuclear capabilities.
Previously, the Strait of Hormuz served as a critical global oil shipping lane. However, maritime traffic has been significantly disrupted since the onset of the conflict between the U.S. and Iran earlier this year, making transit rights a key issue in peace negotiations. Tehran has since withdrawn from a preliminary peace deal, with reports of attacks on vessels in the strait.
Trump urged supporters to view potential increases in gasoline prices as a national priority, linking higher costs to efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining 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... it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world... We don't want them to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said. The national average gas price is currently over $4 per gallon, adding inflationary pressure as Trump approaches midterm elections in less than three months.
According to Tehran insiders and foreign policy experts, Iran reportedly plans to increase aggression in the Strait of Hormuz to pressure the Trump administration ahead of the midterms. Trump himself acknowledged last week that peace talks with Iran were being "low-keyed" after a ceasefire agreement collapsed. Former U.S. diplomat Jonathan Wachtel commented that "Iranian leaders carefully study both American military capabilities and political calendars." Two Iranian sources confirmed that the midterms are a key pressure point that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aims to exploit.
Retired General Jack Keane suggested that Iran is betting on President Trump's reluctance to initiate major military action before the November elections. "My gut feel is that they're likely going to get more aggressive because they don't believe the President will do much prior to the midterms in terms of military actions," Keane told Fox News. Wachtel added that this is a "high–risk gamble," as "major confrontations often begin when one side misunderstands the other's willingness to respond."