'After We Finish Defeating Iran': Trump Says He'll Soon Declare Strait Of Hormuz 'US Territory'

US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would “soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory after defeating Iran, escalating his rhetoric over the vital waterway.

“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 a rally in New York state. “It’s true,” he added.

The remarks came as shipping through the strategic waterway has fallen sharply amid attacks on vessels and a US naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Hormuz Traffic Nears Standstill

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy routes, carrying a significant share of global oil and gas shipments. Traffic has slowed dramatically since the war began in late February, with only a handful

of vessels recorded crossing the waterway in recent days.

Reuters, citing ship-tracking data from Kpler, reported that only two commodity vessels crossed the strait on Friday, while no crude oil shipments were visible. Nine commodity vessels had crossed on Thursday, compared with an average of 12 a day in August.

The slowdown follows attacks on two vessels operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, which the UAE blamed on Iran. Tehran did not immediately comment.

US Threatens Long-Term Blockade

Trump has repeatedly claimed the US has “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz and said the waterway would remain open under US protection.

On Thursday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth had said Washington could maintain its naval blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely by rotating ships in and out of the region.

“Indefinitely the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we’ll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we’ll continue to,” Hegseth told reporters during a trip to Panama.

Trump’s latest remarks came as efforts to revive a ceasefire remained stalled. Iran and the US have traded competing claims over control of the waterway, while continued attacks on shipping have raised fears of a prolonged disruption to global energy supplies.

The latest tensions have already pushed oil prices higher, with Brent crude settling at $88.52 a barrel on Friday.

(With inputs from agencies)