Trump vows to declare Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran

Trump announces plan to claim Strait of Hormuz as US territory

US President Donald Trump announced plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz American territory following the defeat of Iran, escalating tensions over a waterway that handles approximately 20 million barrels of oil daily and represents about 25% of global seaborne oil trade.

Speaking at a political rally in New York on Friday, Trump said the United States already had "total control" of the strait through its blockade of Iranian ports and would formalise that control after defeating Tehran.

"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 told supporters.

Iran swiftly rejected the territorial claim. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz "has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian". He added that the waterway could not be seized "with a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech".

Legal and geographic challenges

Any attempt to incorporate the strait into US territory would face major legal obstacles. The waterway is only about 32 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, with shipping lanes just two miles wide in each direction located primarily in Omani territorial waters and partially in Iranian territorial waters.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, territorial waters extend up to 12 nautical miles from a country's coastline, over which the coastal state has sovereignty. The strait's shipping lanes fall entirely within the sovereign waters of Iran and Oman. By 1972, both countries had expanded their territorial seas to 12 nautical miles, effectively closing the strait with combined territorial waters, though international law provides for transit passage through international straits.

A White House official later told media that Trump's comments about declaring the strait US territory were a joke, though the president has previously made similar proposals involving territorial expansion, including suggestions that Canada become the 51st US state and renewed calls for the US to acquire Greenland.

Shipping disruption intensifies

The 170-kilometre strait connects the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and serves as a critical route for global energy supplies. Shipping traffic through the waterway has collapsed since the conflict began, dropping from an average of around 100 ships per day in February 2026 to an average of six ships per day in early March.

The disruption has had severe consequences beyond oil markets. Approximately 19-20% of global liquefied natural gas trade passes through the strait, with about 93% of Qatar's and 96% of the UAE's LNG exports transiting the waterway. About 84-89% of oil and LNG shipped through Hormuz is destined for Asian markets, with China, India, Japan and South Korea among the largest importers.

Trump defended the military action and said he would "never apologise" for the conflict, despite higher petrol prices. He argued that Americans should accept paying more for fuel if it helps prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

"For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have ... a nuclear weapon," Trump said.

Brent crude oil prices have surged more than 55% since the Iran war began in late February, hitting peaks near $120 per barrel in March and April. Benchmark Brent crude rose to around $88 a barrel on Friday, up about 5% for the week.

Carrier deployment and negotiations

Trump dismissed concerns about the lengthy deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln, which departed San Diego in late November 2025 and has been at sea for more than 260 days as of mid-August, with reports indicating over 200 days without a port call.

The president said the deployment was "not nearly long enough" but confirmed that the carrier would be replaced by another similar vessel.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has not decided whether to resume negotiations with Washington. He said Qatar and Pakistan had exchanged messages with both sides, but stressed that these contacts did not amount to negotiations.

Trump earlier said the US was "low-keying" talks with Iran and that Washington was only "semi-negotiating" with Tehran.

The immediate focus remains on whether the two sides can revive negotiations and whether shipping through Hormuz can return to normal. For now, both sides remain entrenched: Trump insists the US has control of the waterway and is increasing pressure on Iran, while Tehran continues to assert authority over the strait and rejects Washington's territorial claims.