Trump Says He Will Declare the Strait of Hormuz American Territory as Iran Keeps the Blockade in Force

President Donald Trump said at a New York event on Friday that he would "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States. Al Jazeera carried the statement in full, while the Washington Times described it as a joke about annexation, made as the American naval blockade of Iranian ports appeared to be working. Trump also told Americans to accept higher fuel costs, saying they were the price of stopping Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Tehran rejected the claim directly. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait "will be closed or opened solely under Iran's authority," and that Iran would keep enforcing the blockade until Washington accepted what he called the reality of its defeat, according to The Hindu's live coverage. Israel's Ynet reported the same exchange of statements and noted Trump's parallel promise to strike Iran's economy harder.

Events at sea escalated alongside the rhetoric. The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company confirmed that vessels of its fleet were attacked while transiting the strait on the evening of 14 August, and the Emirati foreign ministry called the attacks piracy and a direct threat to global energy supply. Dawn reported that shipping through the strait has come to a near standstill, that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar condemned the strikes and demanded an unconditional return to free navigation, and that Houthi forces hit a Saudi oil facility, extending the range of attacks beyond the strait itself.

Prices reflect a closed chokepoint rather than a scarcity of oil in the ground. Brent traded at about $88.38 a barrel on Friday, up 1.51 per cent on the day, and the American motoring group AAA put the national average gasoline price at $4.08 a gallon, roughly 37 per cent above its level when the war began. Washington says its forces are expanding convoy escort capacity, while some tankers are transiting with transponders switched off, which makes independent verification of flows harder.