WASHINGTON, Aug 15 — United States (US) President Donald Trump said Friday he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.
“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 at the new Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York.
Trump also said the US blockade of the strategic waterway remains in place, claiming that “no ships get through unless we want them to”.
He said that Iran's leadership has been decimated by the war, adding: “That's one of my problems: is nobody to negotiate with.”
“It is a problem. I said, 'Are you sure this guy's okay?' It's the only country in the world where nobody wants to be president,” Trump said.
On rising gas prices tied to the war, Trump said: “So for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your petrol, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have — the number one state sponsor of terror in the world, we don't want to have them have a nuclear weapon (sic).”
Iranian military officials, however, disputed US control over the waterway, with Iran’s central military command on Thursday calling the claims “baseless lies and fabrications”.
As of August 12, in the 166 days since the war began, 3,371 vessels have crossed the strait, around 20 per cent of pre-war traffic volumes, according to data from Kpler, a commodities and shipping data analytics firm, cited by CNN.
The US and Iran agreed to a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and later signed a deal on June 17, launching negotiations towards a final agreement.
The talks later stalled over disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic routes for global energy supplies and trade.
From July 8 to 24, the US and Iran exchanged more military strikes, with Washington launching attacks on targets inside Iran.
Tehran responded by striking what it described as US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, including Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Meanwhile, Iran said it has yet to decide whether to resume indirect negotiations with the US, with its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressing that exchanges through mediators should not be interpreted as a return to talks.
He rejected reports suggesting that the 60-day ceasefire under the Islamabad memorandum – a June framework peace deal with the US, brokered by Pakistan – requires an extension.
“What was included in the Islamabad memorandum was the end of the war, not a ceasefire,” he told Iran’s ISNA news agency.
“The US violated the memorandum, and the fighting resumed. Therefore, there was no 60-day ceasefire that needed to be extended.”
He said the 60 days referred to in the memorandum was intended as a window for negotiations aimed at reaching a final agreement, not as the duration of a ceasefire.
“Both Qatar and Pakistan continue to exchange messages and remain in contact with us, but that does not mean negotiations,” he said. “No decision has yet been made to resume talks with the United States.”
Araghchi said Iran’s negotiations with Oman are continuing but are entirely separate from any discussions with Washington.
He described the talks as technical negotiations focused on establishing new shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, as the previous routes were no longer suitable.
