U.S. President Donald Trump insisted this Tuesday on calling the Strait of Hormuz “new U.S. territory,” posting a photograph on his own social network, Truth Social, with this designation.
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The image shows a map of the strait that separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, where the Strait of Hormuz is circled and the text “NEW United States Territory” is displayed, accompanied by a blue, red, and white stripe with stars.
Last Friday, Trump stated that he proposed incorporating the Strait of Hormuz as “U.S. territory” after “defeating Iran,” raising the tone against Tehran while negotiations remain stalled and the ceasefire deadline agreed upon in June has already passed.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being defeated very badly, I will very soon declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory, essentially. We have a blockade. No ship passes unless we want it to pass,” the Republican declared then, at a rally held in Long Island (New York).
A few days earlier, the U.S. president had already mentioned the idea that the United States would “keep” the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that it already controls the maritime route because U.S. attacks carried out since February have decimated Iran’s military capabilities, something Tehran has denied.
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“The United States has full control of the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it!” Trump wrote last Wednesday on his Truth Social network, asserting that “there is nothing Iran can do about it.”
This Monday marked the expiration of the 60-day period given by the U.S. and Iran with the signing of a memorandum of understanding last June 17, which declared the “immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts,” as part of a process to negotiate the end of the war in the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is one of the main global routes for transporting oil and gas and has become the biggest point of tension in the conflict between the United States and Iran.
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