In a threat to claim sovereignty over the critical chokepoint that has been shut down by Iran, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday posted a map on his Truth Social, depicting the Strait of Hormuz as “new US territory”.
This is not the first time Trump has raised the idea of a US takeover. On Friday, he said in a light-hearted manner that he would soon declare it to be US territory. Iran quickly responded and said that the strait “will remain Iranian”.
On Monday, Trump floated a potential US takeover and suggested that it would be a good idea.
“I think it’s a great idea. I mean, we control it with the blockade. I like the idea of declaring it a territory. We have total control over the Strait. Now, they can be a nuisance; they can put a mine in the water, and people don’t like having mines hit their billion-dollar ships. But the blockade has been very effective. Now, maybe that will stop, or maybe it’ll open up even further, but we’re taking out millions of barrels of oil a week if you look at the kind of numbers that we’re doing,” Trump said.
Trump has threatened to annex foreign territory in the past too.
Since returning to power in 2025, he has threatened to make Canada the 51st US state and seize Greenland and has even alluded to taking control of the Gaza Strip without following through on any of these threats.
Trump Says No Talks Or Conversations Going On With Iran
Two hours after posting the map, the US president claimed that no talks with Iran are under way or scheduled, contradicting his envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said on Monday that the US and Iran were having “very positive and active conversations”.
“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The naval blockade remains in full force and effect,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network on Tuesday.
“The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated.”
Iran has effectively shut down the chokepoint, through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits, in retaliation for the war Trump started along with Israel in late February.
Iran Demands US Lift Blockade To Open Hormuz
The country’s top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Tuesday that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the United States meets Tehran’s demands, including lifting a naval blockade.
“I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding… are implemented,” Ghalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state television.
He listed the removal of the blockade, the lifting of oil sanctions and unfreezing of Iran’s assets abroad among the demands, which were included in an Iran-US truce in June that later collapsed.
Ghalibaf during his speech said Iran was “ready to inflict an even more crushing defeat on the enemy, proportionate to its actions and advances”.
