US President Donald Trump posted a map on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday showing the Strait of Hormuz marked as “New US Territory”, escalating a claim to sovereignty over the waterway that he first floated four days earlier.
The post presses a threat Trump raised on Friday at a law enforcement event in Garden City, New York, where he said that after “defeating Iran” he would “pretty soon” declare the strait American territory. Both Al Jazeera and AP reported at the time that he delivered the line with a chuckle and appeared to be joking. He returned to the idea on Monday in comments to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting it would be a good idea.
”No talks or conversations”
In a separate post, Trump ruled out negotiations. “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he wrote. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating.”
That last assertion sits against the documented state of the waterway. Iran has effectively closed the chokepoint — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes — in retaliation for the war the United States and Israel launched on February 28. Traffic has been at a near standstill, with two vessels transiting on a recent Friday against more than 130 a day before the war. Ada Derana reported that before the conflict erupted, the strait was an open international waterway.
Tehran’s response
Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, answered the map post on X: “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions.”
Tehran has said it will not reopen the strait until Washington meets a list of demands including ending the US blockade of Iranian ports, lifting oil sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets and paying war damages. Gharibabadi had earlier said the strait “cannot be seized by a tweet or an aircraft carrier”.
Oman talks and a pattern of annexation threats
Iran and Oman, which both border the strait, are continuing talks on managing the waterway. Al Jazeera reported that Trump has threatened to bomb Oman should it interfere, and that mediators are waiting for an expected Iran–Oman deal before pushing Washington and Tehran to resume negotiations. Efforts to agree a permanent end to the war remain deadlocked after a 60-day memorandum of understanding lapsed on Monday.
This is not the first time Trump has threatened to annex foreign territory when faced with a foreign policy obstacle. Since returning to power in 2025 he has floated making Canada the 51st US state, seizing Greenland and taking control of the Gaza Strip, without following through on any of them.
The closure has pushed up freight and energy costs for importing economies including Sri Lanka.
