President Donald Trump wants the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, to become U.S. territory. Photo by Stringer/EPA
Aug. 15 (UPI) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he wants the Strait of Hormuz to become U.S. territory.
Speaking at an event in New York, Trump said he plans to declare ownership of the waterway between Oman and Iran once the war is over.
“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,” Trump said, as reported by the Guardian.
“Essentially, that’s what it is,” he added. “We have the blockade — no ships get through unless we want them to.”
Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, on Saturday called the president’s remarks “fanciful delusions.”
“Once and for all, accept the reality: up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats,” Gharibabadi said in a statement 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, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Gharibabadi added.
Traffic through the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil and gas usually pass, has slowed dramatically since Trump launched the war with Iran on Feb. 28.
Six ships traveled through the strait last weekend, where usually as many as 140 would pass in a single day, The Hill reported.
Both Trump and Iranian officials claim to have control of the strait.
“We have control over it, nobody else, only us,” Trump told reporters earlier this week, The Hill reported. “Our Navy is unbelievable and things are going great for our country.”