President Donald Trump said Friday he would designate the Strait of Hormuz as a U.S. territory “very soon” as the status of the waterway, a global chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil and gas passes, remains in a military and diplomatic stalemate. Iran has responded, calling Trump’s threats “senseless” as the memorandum of understanding signed between the two in June expires on Sunday. In the apparent game of who blinks first – although Trump says the negotiation with Iran “is like chess” – the US president’s military rhetoric has also followed a pattern throughout the ongoing war, which began on February 28. On many occasions, he has threatened to attack Iran only to withdraw at the last moment. territory? And what does that mean? Children swim as boats are seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz on August 10, 2026, off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran. [File: Ali Saeedi/Getty Images]What did Trump say? “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very defeated, very soon I will declare the Strait of Hormuz as a territory of the United States,” Trump said during a speech at a police academy in New York. Referring to the naval blockade, Trump went a step further by suggesting that the Strait of Hormuz is already US territory. “Basically, that’s what it is,” he added. “We have the blockade. No ship passes unless we want it to,” he said. Iran maintains it controls the waterway and, despite U.S. claims, some vessels have transited the passage despite the blockage, shipping data shows. “It’s clear that the president of the United States, with a smile when he said that, not even himself, is taking this particularly seriously,” said Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington. D.C. “These are the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. But what the president of the United States likes to do is get under the skin of his adversaries and, in this case, it is Iran,” he said. “What we must note, however, is that the US president is not backing down from the fact that there is a US naval blockade in force in the Strait of Hormuz, and that it continues. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has blamed the US for a return to violence in the Strait of Hormuz. [File: Elke Scholiers/Getty Images]How has Iran reacted? Several Iranian officials have reacted harshly to Trump’s comments. The head of the judiciary came out with furious rhetoric, calling the American president a criminal and a fool, his comments “nonsense” and saying that the Strait of Hormuz belongs to Iran. Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, also responded by saying: “The Strait of Hormuz cannot be taken with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier, nor with an order, nor with an electoral speech.” Iran, and will remain Iranian; “This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command, and as long as they do not accept the reality of defeat and cease their fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” he added. Meanwhile, Iran has been holding talks with Oman, the only other coastal country in the strait, to reach an agreement on the management of maritime traffic in the strait. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in comments published by the Iranian Students News Agency, said the negotiations between Tehran and Muscat “They could reach a conclusion soon.” However, reopening the waterway is a separate issue, Araghchi said, where Washington has to deliver on promises made in the June memorandum of understanding, including removing the naval blockade and sanctions on Iran. For example, Trump had previously threatened to send American boots to Iran’s Kharg Island to seize Iran’s main oil export hub in the Gulf. “with his finger on the trigger.” Trump had also previously threatened to seize Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark. Bruce Fein, deputy attorney general under President Ronald Reagan, says Trump is constitutionally powerless to annex war on his own under international law, including the UN Charter. Natalie Klein, an international law specialist and associate dean at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, said: “Essentially, the only way Trump’s claim could have any plausibility under international law would be if the United States were asserting control over the Strait as an occupying power, perhaps comparable to the authority the United States exercised over Japan immediately after World War II.” “Trump’s war on Iran is also deeply unpopular in the US, where the president and his Republican colleagues are trying to defend their narrow congressional majorities in November’s midterm elections. Just 35 percent of Americans approve of the war, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Several US media publications have reported that Washington is running out of ammunition, including the crucial Patriot anti-missile interceptor. Gasoline prices have also risen, now reaching an average of more than $4 a year: an important issue for Americans. Last week, US Vice President JD Vance said the Trump administration’s top priority in the war was controlling rising oil prices, while stopping Iran’s alleged race toward a nuclear weapon now comes second. Even Iran does not enjoy unlimited sovereignty over the strait as a whole, according to international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), but only some coastal sites near its own borders. UNCLOS recognizes the sovereignty of coastal states over territorial waters, but limits that territorial sea to 12 nautical miles (22 km) and notes that ships enjoy a right of passage that “shall not be impeded.” international straits, sandwiched between the coasts of Iran and Oman. He said that Trump often makes these types of statements primarily to address an American audience, especially his support base. It is important to remember, he added, that Trump is a product of American reality television and is, after all, a “showman.” You have to take it seriously in some cases, but not literally,” Musgrave warned. Trump can’t be taken seriously, especially in this case because turning the strait into US territory is physically and legally impossible, he said. But the statements do show that Trump is determined not to back down from Iran and accept defeat in the months-long war, he added.
