August 15, 2026 | 07:41 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - US President Donald Trump was reportedly "joking" when he said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after the war with Iran, according to US media on Friday, August 14, as quoted from Antara, citing Anadolu.
Trump has not yet met with his advisers to discuss the move, The Wall Street Journal reporter Brian Schwartz reported on platform X, citing an unnamed 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,” Schwartz wrote.
Trump made the remarks at a political rally at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York.
“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,” Trump said with a chuckle.
Schwartz, who attended the speech, said Trump chuckled after making the statement, but then appeared to insist that it was true.
Trump also claimed Washington controls shipping through the strategic waterway.
“We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” Trump told his supporters.
Meanwhile, Iranian military officials have denied the claim. Iran's military central command on Thursday called the assertion about US control of the Strait of Hormuz a lie and a baseless fabrication.
As of Wednesday, some 3,371 ships had passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the 166 days since the US-Israel war against Iran began.
This figure represents about 20 percent of the pre-war traffic volume in the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the commodity and shipping analytics firm Kpler, as quoted by CNN.
The US and Iran previously agreed to a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April. The two countries then signed an agreement on June 17 to begin negotiations toward a final agreement.
However, the talks subsequently stalled due to several differences, including over security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The two sides also launched military attacks on each other from July 8-24.
Washington attacked several targets in Iran, while Tehran responded by attacking what it said were US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, including Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.
Read: Trump to Declare Strait of Hormuz US Territory 'Soon'
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