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

Brent crude traded near $88 a barrel after two Abu Dhabi National Oil Company tankers were attacked in the waterway, and the average United States pump price stood at $4.08 a gallon.

- Published: 2026-08-15T05:04:00.969Z
- Canonical: https://polylog.news/2026-08-15/trump-says-he-will-declare-the-strait-of-hormuz-american-ter
- Publisher: Polylog (Global desk)
- Section: markets
- Sources: [Al Jazeera](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/8/15/us-president-trump-says-he-will-declare-strait-of-hormuz-us-territory), [The Hindu](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-us-war-west-asia-conflict-donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-rising-oil-prices-live-updates-august-15-2026/article71348347.ece), [Dawn](https://www.dawn.com/news/2022956/trump-signals-plan-to-claim-hormuz-soon), [Ynet](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sksbisplme)

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](https://www.aljazeera.com/video/newsfeed/2026/8/15/us-president-trump-says-he-will-declare-strait-of-hormuz-us-territory), while [the Washington Times described it as a joke about annexation](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/aug/14/state-hormuz-trump-jokes-annexing-middle-east-waterway-heart-iran-war/), 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](https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/iran-us-war-west-asia-conflict-donald-trump-strait-of-hormuz-rising-oil-prices-live-updates-august-15-2026/article71348347.ece). Israel's Ynet reported [the same exchange of statements](https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/sksbisplme) 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](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/8/14/uae-accuses-iran-of-attacks-on-two-adnoc-vessels-in-strait-of-hormuz). 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](https://www.dawn.com/news/2022956/trump-signals-plan-to-claim-hormuz-soon).

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](https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/brent-crude-oil), 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](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/trump-urges-americans-accept-higher-203543611.html). 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.

## What this means

A blocked strait converts a security event into a permanent freight and insurance cost. Refiners in India, Japan, South Korea and China pay it first through crude differentials and war-risk premiums on Gulf loadings, and households pay it later at the pump, which is why an American president is now asking voters to absorb the transfer directly. Gulf producers with export routes that bypass Hormuz, and non-Gulf exporters including Russia, Brazil and West Africa, gain pricing power for as long as the closure holds.

## What to watch

- Whether the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and other Gulf shippers keep sailing after two of their vessels were hit, because a decision to suspend transits entirely would remove far more barrels than the current partial flow.
- Whether Oman's mediation produces any reopening formula, since Tehran has tied navigation to American concessions rather than to shipping safety.
- The United States retail gasoline average, which is now the political constraint on how long Washington can sustain the blockade strategy.