Trump ‘joked’ about declaring Strait of Hormuz ‘US territory’: White House official
US President Donald Trump was “joking,” when he recently said he planned to declare the Strait of Hormuz a “US territory,” a senior White House official says.
“Per a senior White House official - President Trump has not met with his advisers about declaring the Strait of Hormuz a US territory post the war and was joking during his speech today in New York,” Brian Schwartz, a White House reporter for The Wall Street Journal, wrote in a post on X on Saturday, citing the official.
Remarking earlier, Trump had 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."
Schwartz added that he had noticed Trump’s “chuckling” after making the remark during the speech.
Reacting to Trump’s remarks on Friday, a senior Iranian diplomat categorically rejected the claim about the future status of the waterway, stressing that the Islamic Republic would not be intimidated by threats or displays of military power into reopening the chokepoint.
Iran neither intimidated by threats nor cowed by displays of power: Deputy FMhttps://t.co/bX8400RJLf
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 14, 2026
“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier, by issuing an order or by delivering an election speech. Iran is neither intimidated by threats nor cowed by displays of power,” Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi wrote in a post on X.
Gharibabadi expressed surprise over the claim, asserting that it has rather been Washington, which has suffered defeat in its efforts to impose its will on the chokepoint.
“Accept reality once and for all: so far, you have suffered serious and strategic defeats. The Strait of Hormuz has been, is, and will remain Iranian; this strait will be closed or reopened only at Iran’s command,” the diplomat stated.
“And as long as you refuse to acknowledge the reality of your defeat and continue to indulge in delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade.”
Iran says control over Hormuz 'decisive' as Kpler data debunks US claimshttps://t.co/0T08ws6Ovq
— Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) August 14, 2026
Iran has vowed to retain the strait closed until its conditions were met.
Earlier in August, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) conditioned reopening of the waterway to realization of such imperatives as the US’s permanently ending aggression against Iran and its regional allies, lifting its illegal naval blockade and all sanctions against the Islamic Republic, returning the country’s frozen assets, and paying compensation for the damage resulting from the aggression.
Ex-nuclear negotiator: Trump's war on Iran places US in cul-de-sac
Senator Schumer demands dismissal of US war secretary
Iran: US and Israel guilty of gravest war crimes since 1949
Trump ‘joked’ about declaring Strait of Hormuz ‘US territory’: White House official
VIDEO | Pakistan at 79: How independent is its decision-making?
Saudi-linked targets come under fresh heavy strikes by Yemen’s Armed Forces
Iran neither intimidated by threats nor cowed by displays of power: Deputy FM
Stretched US war on Iran leaves military families reporting strain across multiple ships
VIDEO | Israeli defeat in 33-day war in 2006 still resonates today
Iran’s rapid recovery stuns Israel as missile stockpile rebuilds faster than expected
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
