Iran fires back at Trump's threat to declare Hormuz a US territory

Iran on Saturday fired back at US President Donald Trump's claim that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, saying the crucial energy waterway it has blockaded "will remain Iranian". 

Trump has repeatedly said the strait, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war in late February, is under US control -- an assertion the Islamic republic denies.

President Donald Trump has said that he would "finish defeating" Iran and "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory.

Trump has repeatedly said that the key energy waterway, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war, is under US control -- an assertion the Islamic republic denies.

"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," he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state on Friday. "It's true," he added.

An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump was joking, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi fired back Saturday in a post on X, stressing that 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," he added.

Trump, together with Israel, launched a war against Iran on February 28 with Tehran retaliating by establishing de facto control over much of the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway also vital for commodity shipping.

The United States remains locked in a stalemate with Iran over the strait, with Iran denying access to much of the civilian shipping and the US Navy mounting a blockade of Iranian ports in an attempt to cripple its economy.

"We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to," Trump said to a cheering crowd of supporters and police.

President Donald Trump said he plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory after defeating Iran, though it is unclear if this signals a new policy https://t.co/oaV16dMUFV pic.twitter.com/2TiMxLWye8

— Reuters (@Reuters) August 14, 2026

UAE vessel attacked in Hormuz strait

United Arab Emirates' state-owned oil giant ADNOC said Saturday one of its vessels came under attack in the Hormuz strait, the latest incident in the waterway at the centre of the US-Iran conflict.

Tehran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait, a vital shipping route for global energy supplies, carrying out strikes on commercial ships since the war began in February.

The Islamic republic has said it wants to charge users for passage, which Washington fiercely opposes.

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) "confirmed that one of its vessels was attacked while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on the evening of Friday, August 14", according to the official WAM news agency, but reported no injuries.

In its statement, ADNOC stressed the importance of protecting seafarers and safeguarding freedom of navigation and maritime security.

The announcement came a day after the UAE accused Iran of attacking two vessels linked to ADNOC as they passed through the strait.

The UAE foreign ministry condemned what it called a "hostile Iranian attack" on the vessels and said no injuries had been reported.

Last week, ADNOC reported that three of its tankers had been attacked in the waterway, while the UAE foreign ministry separately announced an attack on another ADNOC tanker a day later.

Continued attacks in the strait, which was free to transit before the Middle East war began, led to the collapse of an April ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

A June deal -- meant to serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations on a permanent settlement -- had said Iran and Oman, also bordering the waterway, would hash out future arrangements for the strait in discussion with other Gulf countries and "in line with the applicable international law".

Last week, Iranian security chief Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr set out a series of conditions for reopening the strait fully, including an end to what he described as war against Iran and its regional allies, the lifting of sanctions and compensation for wartime damage.