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Donald Trump has said that "pretty soon" he will be "declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States" but Iran have already responded saying Hormuz "will remain Iranian."
During a speech at an event in Long Island, New York, on Friday, the US president said how Americans paying "a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is worth the cost of ensuring "a very evil country" could not have a nuclear weapon.
"After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated... pretty soon I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," Trump said. “Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
The Strait of Hormuz is located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and is a crucial trade route for exports with around 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas flowing through the passage.
Trump's latest remarks come as negotiation peace talks have stalled with Iran who refuse to reopen the strait which has remained largely closed since February when the US and Israel launched their war on Iran.
The president's declaration has since prompted plenty of reaction on social media:
Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif) wrote, "Awesome! And the Easter Bunny is real."
"This is idiotic." said Tom Nichols.
Democratic Candidate for Congress, Fred Wellman posted, "That’s not a thing. He has not defeated Iran. This is literally the definition of forever war. It won’t be his kids sailing thousands of miles from home to secure his new territory."
Molly Jong-Fast wrote, "I know we throw around the moniker 'mad king' but…."
Iran has since responded to Trump's most recent comment with the country's Deputy Foreign Minister for legal and international affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, "the Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian."
"This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran's command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," he said in a post on X on Saturday.
It comes days after Trump took to his Truth Social platform to declare the US is in control of the Strait of Hormuz.
"The U.S.A. has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT! Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, “A WALL OF STEEL," he wrote.
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