Trump Wants to Claim the Strait of Hormuz as US Territory. Here's What That Means.
US President Donald Trump announced on August 14 that he wants to declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory" of the United States once the war with Iran is over. Speaking to supporters in New York, Trump said: "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." Al Jazeera
Trump was in New York to support Republican candidates for the 2026 US midterm elections. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strip of water between Iran and Oman. It has never been under American control. Before the war, about 20 percent of the world's oil supply passed through it. Iran blocked traffic through the strait after the fighting started. Al Jazeera
The United States and Israel began striking Iran on February 28. The war has now lasted six months. Who controls the Strait of Hormuz has become one of the biggest obstacles to peace talks. In June, the US and Iran signed an agreement to pause fighting. Iran was supposed to help ships pass safely through the strait. Both sides accused the other of breaking the deal, and fighting started again by the end of June. Al Jazeera
There was an even earlier ceasefire. In April, Iran agreed to stop fighting and reopen the strait while the Trump administration worked on a broader peace deal, according to the White House. That did not last. The administration sent US Navy ships to block the strait in April, saying it needed to stop Iranian aggression and make the waterway safe again. White House, April 2026
Right now, both sides have warships in or near the strait and have attacked each other there. Iranian forces keep targeting commercial ships passing through. Iran says part of the strait belongs to its territorial waters and is under its control. The United States has set up its own blockade and fired on a cargo ship it said was trying to reach Iranian ports. Trump called the US blockade "a wall of steel." Al Jazeera
Iran's leaders responded to Trump's territory claim with anger. Kazem Gharibabadi, a top Iranian diplomat, pushed back on social media. Iran has warned before that the strait is a "red line" and said it can strike the waterway from anywhere on its territory. Al Jazeera; Reuters, July 2026
Trump has not ruled out sending US ground troops to take over the strait. In July, he said the US has total naval control of the strait, strong intelligence and strike capability, and a clear plan. On August 5, Trump said a deal to reopen the strait was close. But US officials said they would never let Iran control the waterway. White House, July 2026; Reuters, August 2026
In December 2025, the Trump administration released a National Security Strategy document that said the Strait of Hormuz should stay open, along with the Red Sea. That document called safe shipping a strategic interest. It did not say the US should own the strait. White House, December 2025
No American president has ever declared a foreign waterway as US territory. There is no clear basis for it in international law either. The main treaty on ocean rules, called the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, says that countries control waters up to 12 nautical miles from their coastlines. But when a strait is used for international shipping, all countries have the right to pass through it. It is like a public road that crosses private property: the owner owns the land, but they cannot legally close the road. The United States never officially joined this treaty but has usually followed its rules. A US claim to own the Strait of Hormuz would put Washington in conflict with both Iran and Oman, the two countries whose waters make up the strait. It would also likely face objections from every major country that depends on shipping routes through the Gulf.
At home, Trump faces strong public opposition to the war. A Quinnipiac University poll in late July found that 60 percent of US voters oppose US military action against Iran. Al Jazeera
The broader context is that this territory claim adds a new and potentially destabilizing demand to peace talks that were already in trouble. Over the course of the war, both sides have hardened their positions. In June, Iran agreed to help ships pass safely through the strait. Now both sides are running military operations in and around the waterway, and both claim to control it. Whether Trump's announcement is a real policy plan or political talk aimed at domestic audiences is unclear. What is clear is that the gap between the two sides on the strait has grown wider, not smaller, as the war has gone on.
