Trump Threatens to Declare Hormuz Strait US Territory
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Trump said he would designate the Strait of Hormuz a US territory "pretty soon" during a New York police academy speech, claiming the naval blockade already makes the waterway "essentially" American territory.
- Iran rejected the threat as "nonsense," with deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi declaring the strait "cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech."
- The June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran expires Sunday, with Iran now demanding removal of the naval blockade and lifting of sanctions as conditions for merely reopening the waterway — terms originally tied to ending the war.
- Iran and Oman, the strait's only two coastal states, are in talks on maritime traffic management, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi indicating a conclusion "may reach... soon," though reopening the waterway remains a separate US concession issue.
- Legal experts say Trump cannot unilaterally annex the strait: Bruce Fein notes a Senate-ratified treaty or statute is constitutionally required, while Natalie Klein says US control would only be plausible as an occupying power over Iran's coast.
- Under UNCLOS, the strait lies in international waters at its narrowest 21 nautical miles wide, with both Iran and Oman's 12-nautical-mile territorial seas overlapping across it — a framework widely regarded as customary law despite neither country ratifying it.
- The war that began February 28 faces mounting domestic pressure: only 35% of Americans approve (Reuters/Ipsos), petrol averages over $4/gallon, the US is reportedly running short on Patriot interceptors, and VP JD Vance said controlling fuel prices now outweighs stopping Iran's nuclear program.
Why it matters: Trump's threat lands as the June US-Iran MOU expires Sunday and Iran has shifted to demanding removal of the naval blockade plus sanctions relief just to reopen the strait — terms harder than the original war-ending framework. Legal experts say unilateral annexation requires a Senate-ratified treaty, making the claim both constitutionally and internationally impossible, while 35% domestic approval, $4+/gallon petrol, and Patriot interceptor shortages constrain the war's runway ahead of midterms.
Ask SkimNews
