US President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory” in a social media post, escalating his comments over control of the strategic waterway amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Trump on Tuesday shared a map graphic on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, labelling the Strait of Hormuz a “NEW U.S. Territory”.
The same graphic was also posted by the official White House account on X.
The image shows a blue-highlighted map of the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with a circle around the narrow passage and the words “NEW U.S. Territory” displayed prominently.
The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.
Speaking at a political rally in New York State on Friday, Trump said, “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.”“It’s true,” he added.
The Strait of Hormuz, which handled about a fifth of the world’s crude oil and gas before the war, has become the central flashpoint between the U.S. and Iran since February.
Shipping remains near a standstill amid sporadic attacks on oil tankers. Just three vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to ship-tracking data from Kpler.
