US President Donald Trump has said he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory” of the United States as tensions with Iran continue to escalate.
Speaking in New York on Friday, Trump told supporters that Washington would soon claim the strategically important waterway, which is vital to the global supply of oil, natural gas and fertiliser, reports Al Jazeera.
“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, with a chuckle.
The US and Israel have been at war with Iran since 28 February, when they launched a series of strikes.
Iran responded by restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, which previously carried around 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply.
The waterway had remained unrestricted before the war, but control over it has since emerged as a major point of contention in ceasefire negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
The strait has also witnessed renewed fighting in recent months. In June, the US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at ending military operations. One provision required Iran to make its “best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels”.
Both sides subsequently accused each other of violating the memorandum, and fighting resumed by the end of the month.
Washington and Tehran have since settled into uneasy negotiations that have reduced the intensity of fighting across the Middle East but have failed to satisfy either side or bring the conflict to a decisive conclusion.
Iran has continued targeting commercial vessels in the strait, arguing that part of the waterway lies within its territorial waters and therefore remains under its control.
The US has also established its own blockade in the strait. This week, American forces fired on a cargo vessel they accused of attempting to reach Iranian ports.
At Friday’s speech, which was delivered to a gathering of law enforcement officials, Trump described the blockade as impenetrable and portrayed it as a service to countries dependent on traffic through the waterway.
“You just have to remember that what we’re doing is a great service for the world. Not only for ourselves, for the world,” he said. “The blockade is unstoppable. It’s a wall of steel.”
Trump travelled to New York to support Republican candidates ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, a crucial contest for his administration as Republican control of Congress remains at stake.
At the rally, Trump again declared victory over Iran despite the war continuing without a clear end.
The conflict remains unpopular in the US. A Quinnipiac University poll conducted in late July found that 60 per cent of US voters oppose US military action against Iran.
Media reports have also indicated that Washington may have limited options for further military escalation because of pressure on its munitions stockpiles.
Trump’s latest comments are likely to further inflame tensions with Tehran. Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi responded defiantly on social media.
“Trump said that, after Iran’s defeat, he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz as American territory,” Gharibabadi wrote.
“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be taken over by a tweet, nor by an aircraft carrier, nor by issuing a decree, nor by an election speech. Iran is neither afraid of threats nor intimidated by a show of force.”
Both Iran and the US have raised the possibility of imposing tolls on commercial traffic through the strait. Last month, Trump suggested that the US could become the “guardian” of the waterway while charging a 20 per cent fee on products passing through it.
Legal experts, however, have said such tolls would violate international law, which broadly protects the free transit of commercial maritime vessels.
Trump’s comments also follow earlier proposals to expand US territory. In his second inaugural address in 2025, he described the US as “a growing nation” and has since pressured places including Canada and Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, to surrender their sovereignty.
Earlier on Friday, Trump told Fox News that he would use economic pressure to weaken and isolate Iran, which has already faced heavy US sanctions for decades.
In a separate interview with Newsmax, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also said the US could announce additional economic measures in the coming days aimed at further weakening Iran’s economy.
