Donald Trump affirmed this Friday that he will declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory, raising his rhetoric about the world's most strategic maritime route amid the conflict with Iran.
The leader made the statement during a rally in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, in front of senior officials from U.S. security forces.
Trump said verbatim: "After we finish defeating Iran... I will very soon be declaring the Strait of Hormuz territory of the United States."
In the same speech, the president asserted that Washington maintains control of the maritime passage. "We have the blockade. No ship passes unless we allow it."
The statement did not come out of the blue. Three days earlier, Trump had posted on Truth Social: "The U.S. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT!"
According to a report by Reuters, Tehran's response was immediate. The Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, categorically rejected the claim.
«One cannot take control of the Strait of Hormuz with a tweet or an aircraft carrier (...) The Strait of Hormuz has been and will continue to be Iranian,» said Gharibabadi on the social network X.
Iran also described Trump's claims about control of the strait as "false and fabricated."
In April, the President of the United States announced "total control" over the maritime route, and by the end of that same month, he even proposed renaming it "Trump Strait".
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