US President Donald Trump said he would “soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz part of United States territory after defeating Iran.
“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,” he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state on Friday.
“It’s true,” AFP reported the President saying.
Trump, together with Israel, launched a war against Iran on Feb 28, with the stated aims of ending Tehran’s controversial nuclear programme and sparking a popular uprising.
However, Iran retaliated by establishing de facto control over much of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime passage through which large volumes of global energy and other commodities are transported.
The United States remains locked in a standoff with Iran over the strategic waterway, with Tehran denying access to civilian shipping while the US Navy maintains a blockade of Iranian ports in an attempt to cripple the country’s economy.
“We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” Trump told a cheering crowd of supporters and police. - August 15, 2026
