Trump Says He Will Declare the Strait of Hormuz United States Territory, and Iran Refuses

Speaking in New York on Friday, President Donald Trump told supporters that the United States would take ownership of the world's most important oil passage. "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," he said, according to Al Jazeera.

Iran answered within a day. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote that the strait "cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech," and said it "has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," as reported by Euronews. Iran's judiciary chief, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i, dismissed the remarks as fabrications. The Hindu notes that Trump has repeatedly described the strait as under American control since Tehran effectively closed it at the start of the war in late February, an assertion Iran denies.

The commercial question is separate from the rhetorical one. TASS, citing Iran's Press TV, reported that Iran and Oman have agreed on the map of a proposed shipping route through the strait, with Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei saying some issues remain under discussion. Under the arrangement described by Tehran, parts of the inbound and outbound corridors would run through Iranian rather than Omani waters, a change from the decades-old pattern of commercial traffic. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said reopening depends on further conditions, including American amends for what he calls a violation of a memorandum agreed in June.

The rhetorical clash comes as the diplomatic framework underlying the war approaches a deadline. The ceasefire rests on a memorandum of understanding signed in Islamabad on 17 June under Pakistani mediation, and its 60-day term is due to lapse around 17 August. Pakistani officials said in mid-August that Washington and Tehran had conveyed consent to mediators to extend that deadline, according to Türkiye Today, though neither government confirmed an extension publicly, and the two sides were still exchanging messages over its length as of the weekend. The negotiations meant to produce a permanent settlement stalled earlier over security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the strait itself.

Prices reflect a market that expects the closure to persist rather than end. Brent crude traded around 87 to 88 dollars a barrel on Friday, and the United States Energy Information Administration raised its estimate of shut-in Middle East crude production in its August outlook, assuming severe constraints on Hormuz transits continue through the month. The strait normally carries roughly a fifth of seaborne oil along with a large share of liquefied natural gas and fertiliser feedstock.