Trump says he wants to declare Strait of Hormuz US territory

US President Donald Trump has announced plans to make the Strait of Hormuz a US territory after defeating Iran.

He made this statement at a rally in Nassau County on Friday.

“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Trump said.

He told the crowd that Iran would be defeated “pretty soon.” He added that making the waterway a US territory would mean sending troops to the area for a long time.

“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” he noted.

Iran responded strongly, stating that the waterway cannot be seized or turned into a US territory.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said, “The Strait cannot be seized with a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech. Iran neither fears threats nor is intimidated by displays of force.”

He added, “The strait will be closed or opened solely under Iran’s authority, and as long as you refuse to accept the reality of defeat and abandon your delusions, Iran will continue enforcing the blockade.”

Traffic through the Strait has been crucial for peace talks between the US and Iran. Both countries have been in a battle for control of this narrow water route for months. Before the US-Israeli joint attack in February that started the war, navigation through the strait was open for all.

An Iranian blockade, followed by a US blockade, has disrupted the energy market and caused oil prices to rise sharply worldwide.

Despite this, Trump said he has no regrets about the war.

The US leader insisted he would “never apologise” for military actions against Iran.

Trump stated that the rise in gas prices has been worth it to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. Iran has repeatedly denied wanting a nuclear weapon, but many US and Western leaders believe otherwise.

“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 country, really, it’s the number one state sponsor of terror in the world, we don’t want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more,” Trump said.

Attempts to negotiate have been difficult.

On Sunday, Trump mentioned that the US was “low-keying” its talks with Iran.

“We are only semi-negotiating with them,” he said in an interview with Axios.

However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said early Saturday that Tehran has not made a decision about whether to resume talks with the US.

Araghchi mentioned that the mediators, Qatar and Pakistan, have exchanged messages, but these do not count as negotiations.