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US President Donald Trump has renewed his proposal on the future of the Strait of Hormuz, after posting on the Truth Social platform a map that depicts the strategic waterway as “new American territory”, though he did not comment on the image.
This is not the first time Trump has published the same map highlighting the Strait of Hormuz, as he had already shared it on 18 August.
The US president first floated the idea of treating the strait as American territory on 15 August.
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is suffering a very severe defeat, I will soon announce that the Strait of Hormuz will be land belonging to the United States,” Trump said at a rally in New York.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping lanes; before the outbreak of the war, around one-fifth of global exports of crude oil and liquefied natural gas passed through it.
While Iran insists it has asserted control over the strait, Trump, for his part, maintains that the United States is the one that “fully controls” the passage.
Tehran has kept the strait closed since the war began, and its dispute with Washington continues over the conditions for reopening it.
In a related development, an official Iranian account earlier described the US state of California as “new land belonging to Iran”.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also joined the response to Trump’s remarks, writing: “His illusions about the Strait of Hormuz will be corrected soon, or we will correct the illusions of this delusional man.”
Tehran ties reopening Hormuz to ‘changing US behaviour’
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States fulfils its commitments and changes what he called its “behaviour”.
“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, despite American claims, and it will not be opened until America corrects its behaviour… This time, America must first honour its commitments,” Rezaei told Iranian state television.
Iran warns Gulf states not to join Washington’s sanctions
Rezaei issued a warning to countries that might join US economic measures against Tehran.
“We declare to all countries… Do not join the economic war being waged by the United States,” he said, stressing that “any country that takes part in imposing economic restrictions on us will be considered an enemy.”
The Iranian official also threatened to “harm” the interests of countries that, in his words, “refuse to distance themselves” from the United States.
Rezaei said Iran has so far used only part of its capabilities, noting that the attacks it has carried out have targeted US military bases only, without hitting the United States’ economic interests.
“So far, we have targeted military bases only, but if they want to impose economic sanctions on us, the United States has oil companies and other businesses around Iran and elsewhere, and we will strike them,” he added:
Rezaei warned President Trump that any new move against Iran could trigger a major escalation.
Tehran and Washington signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war and paving the way for a broader agreement between the two sides.
However, the process of reaching an understanding later stalled because of disagreements over how it should be implemented, as well as disputes surrounding navigation arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz.
Talks involving Iran and the Sultanate of Oman on regulating traffic in the vital waterway have continued, but have so far failed to produce a breakthrough or a decisive agreement.