Iran rejects Trump’s claim over Strait of Hormuz, says waterway ‘cannot be seized by tweet’

Iran on Saturday rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, saying the strategic waterway “cannot be seized by tweet” and would remain under Iranian control.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the strait, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war, would “only be closed and opened under Iran's command”.

"Trump has said that after Iran's defeat, he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz as US territory. The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech," he said in a post on X.

"Once and for all, accept the reality: up to this point, you have suffered strategic and heavy defeats... As long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and cease your fanciful delusions, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade," he added.

Gharibabadi also said the Strait of Hormuz “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian”.

Trump had said he would “finish defeating” Iran and “pretty soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory during a political rally at a police academy in New York.

"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.

"It's true," he added.

Iran rejects US claims of control

Trump had earlier claimed that the US had “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz, saying its naval blockade was a “WALL OF STEEL”.

The Iranian military rejected the claim, describing it as false and saying the strategic waterway remained under the “complete management and control” of Iran.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya, said no commercial ship or tanker could safely pass through the strait without the permission and supervision of Iranian armed forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also accused the US of making “miscalculations” over the waterway.

"The U.S. has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz," he said on X.

A White House official later clarified, according to the Wall Street Journal, that Trump was joking about declaring the strait US territory.

Trump had also told the rally that paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” was worth the cost of ensuring that Iran, which he described as “a very evil country”, could not have a nuclear weapon.

The comments came amid the ongoing Middle East war, which began on 28 February when US and Israeli forces launched joint strikes on Iran, killing several members of the country’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Iranian forces subsequently attacked American and Israeli assets in the Middle East.