Trump declares Strait of Hormuz a "US territory" in bizarre new claim

Trump declares Strait of Hormuz a "US territory" in bizarre new claim The US President shared an image declaring the Strait of Hormuz part of the US on Truth Social after floating the idea earlier this week. Donald Trump has shared a bizarre image of the Strait of Hormuz on Truth Social, in which the US President labels the waterway a "new US territory." The image, shared on Trump's social media accounts, shows a map of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, which the Strait sits in between. Circling the Strait, which sits in the middle of the picture, is a label declaring it a ‘NEW U.S. Territory’ overlayed onto a large red, white and blue star-spangled graphic. The move follows comments made by Trump at a speech in New York last week, in which he appeared to float the idea of annexing the waterway and telling attendees it would become a US territory "pretty soon." "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 told those in attendance When asked bout the remarks in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump doubled down on his rhetoric, claiming the US is already in control of the disputed waterway. “We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” he told reporters. “They can be a nuisance,” he continued, referring to Iran. “They can put a mine in the water and people don’t like having mines hit their billion dollar ships.” Prior to his speech on Friday, Trump also told Fox News “We totally control, we own, in the true sense, we own the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that "we only allow boats to come in if we want them to come in.” Iranian officials however have already hit back at the attempted power grab, with Deputy Foreign Ministry Gharibabadi writing on X:"The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power." Speaking directly to Trump, he added: "Once and for all, accept the reality: up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats; the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian; this strait will only be closed and opened under Iran's command, and as long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade." The Iranian military this week offered a bounty of $30,000 to anyone who kills or kidnaps soldiers in the region, with the price doubling to $60,000 for any woman who manages the feat. The escalation comes as the 60-day ceasefire between the US and Iran ends today.