Iran Rejects Donald Trump’s Claim That Strait of Hormuz Could Be US Territory

Kazem Gharibabadi Rejects U.S. Territorial Claims Over the Strategic Waterway

A defiant Tehran pushed back against Washington after President Trump suggested during a speech at a police academy in Nassau County, New York, that he would soon declare the vital shipping lane a territory of the United States once victory in the ongoing conflict was secured. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed the remarks in a post on the social platform X, declaring that the key waterway cannot be seized with a tweet, nor with an aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor through an election speech.

In his post translated from Persian to English, Gharibabadi emphasized that this strait will only be opened and closed under Iran’s command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade. The Iranian diplomat maintained that the critical corridor has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian despite repeated U.S. naval deployments enforcing a blockade during the hostilities that began on February 28, 2026. Trump floated the idea of taking control of the strait during his Friday speech despite the fact that it is currently under the shared jurisdiction of Iran and Oman. We have control over it. Nobody else. Only us. Our Navy is unbelievable, and things are going great for our country, Trump had previously told reporters on Tuesday. Several observers have pushed back on Trump’s claim to the strait, with former U.S. diplomat Richard Haass insisting that no country is in control of the Strait of Hormuz, while Fox News host Bret Baier noted that traffic through the waterway has slowed down to a trickle.

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The diplomatic standoff unfolds against a backdrop of heavily restricted maritime trade through a passage that handled roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply prior to the outbreak of the war. Ship-tracking data from Kpler indicates that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has slowed down to a trickle compared to peacetime operations where roughly 130 to 140 vessels traversed the route daily. Only two vessels managed to pass through on Friday with no visible crude oil shipments, while just six vessels traveled through the strait the previous weekend.

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Energy markets have reacted to the persistent shipping bottleneck and the blockade that Iran enforced after the U.S. and Israel launched their first attacks. Crude oil futures rose $1 a barrel on Friday, and benchmark Brent futures were on track for a weekly rise of 6.0%. Defending the economic strain, Trump told law enforcement officers in New York that paying a tiny little bit more at the gasoline pump was a necessary cost to ensure a very ⁠evil country could not acquire a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance noted in an interview with Fox News that the primary objective of the administration remains keeping energy affordable for Americans while ensuring Iran never develops a nuclear weapon, a capability Tehran has repeatedly insisted it has no desire to develop.

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Despite the enforcement of a U.S. naval blockade against Iranian ports and ongoing U.S. naval deployments, maritime hazards persist as Iran continues to fire on ships attempting to transit. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre reported that a bulk carrier was struck in the hull by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, though the organization run by the British navy confirmed that the crew was safe, with no damage assessment reported and the environmental impact remaining unknown.

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Diplomatic channels remain largely frozen as a 60-day negotiating period set by a mid-June memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Tehran draws toward a close on Monday with few direct negotiations having taken place. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed in an interview with Shahrara News published Friday that there are no negotiations currently taking place between Tehran and Washington. While Qatar and Pakistan remain in contact with Iran and exchange messages as mediators, Araghchi stated that this does not at all constitute negotiations and added that no decision has yet been taken to resume talks with America.