The US Iran war has entered another tense phase, with U.S. President Donald Trump saying during a Friday address at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York, that he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory once military operations against Iran conclude.
The announcement comes amid a diplomatic deadlock in negotiations with Tehran. Navigational access through the strategic maritime chokepoint has remained heavily restricted following the outbreak of hostilities involving the U.S., Israel, and Iran in February. Iranian authorities, who border and exercise de facto control over the waterway, have refused to fully reopen it.
“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.
“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
In alignment with the stalled talks, Washington has maintained a naval blockade on Iranian ports and commercial cargo to intensify economic pressure on the regime.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated in a Saturday interview that separate talks with neighboring Oman aimed to designate a new maritime passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though U.S. shipping would remain restricted until Washington fulfills specific conditions.
Araqchi noted that bilateral negotiations between Iran and Oman regarding future management of the waterway could wrap up shortly.
Meanwhile, marine tracking service TankerTrackers observed an Iranian supertanker loading crude at Kharg Island for the first time since late July.
Araqchi clarified that Tehran has not determined whether to re-engage in direct diplomacy with the United States, adding that indirect messages routed through Pakistan and Qatar do not constitute formal negotiations.
Backstory…
Trump’s statement comes amid a growing confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz, which has become one of the main flashpoints in the months-long US Iran war.
The conflict began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, after which Tehran restricted commercial traffic through the strategic waterway. The strait, through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supplies normally pass, has since become central to the wider conflict and stalled negotiations.
Tensions escalated further this week after commercial shipping through the waterway fell to near-standstill following attacks on two vessels linked to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Washington has maintained a naval blockade and insisted that it has effective control over the strait, while Tehran has rejected the claim and maintained that the waterway remains under Iranian control.
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