Trump Posts Map Labelling Strait of Hormuz ‘New U.S. Territory’ as 60-Day Deal Deadline Passes

President Donald Trump posted a map on Truth Social on Tuesday, August 18, labelling the Strait of Hormuz "new U.S. territory," after the 60-day deadline for a diplomatic deal with Iran passed with no agreement.

The claim followed a statement he made at a fundraiser in Garden City, New York, on Friday, August 15. "After we finish defeating Iran, 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."

Iran pushed back the same day. Tehran said the waterway "will remain Iranian," citing sovereignty it has asserted since the 1979 revolution.

Whether the US can legally claim the Strait is a separate question. The waterway passes through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman. International maritime law gives strait states sovereignty over their territorial seas, and no US president has the authority to annex foreign territorial waters by declaration.

The stakes are real. The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 percent of global oil trade each day. A fifth of all LNG shipments also pass through. The US naval blockade has already cut ship traffic sharply through the chokepoint.

MarineRadar data shows 284 unique devices tracked ships or searched the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding Gulf waters in the last 48 hours.