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U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he would "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States, escalating his rhetoric over the strategic waterway as Washington maintains a blockade against Iran.
"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," Trump said during remarks at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence in Nassau County, New York.
Trump did not elaborate on how such a declaration would work or what implications it could have.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital waterway carrying a significant share of global oil supplies.
Earlier Friday, Trump told Fox News that the U.S. was in firm control of the strait.
"We totally control, we own, in the true sense, we own the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said. "We only allow boats to come in if we want them to come in."
He described the U.S. blockade as a "wall of steel" and said it was costing Tehran "hundreds of millions of dollars every single day," alongside pressure from U.S. sanctions.
Iran has continued to disrupt shipping through the waterway despite the U.S. military presence.
Trump warned Tehran against further attacks, saying: "If they hit, we would hit back 100 times harder."
Trump said he had used the military "a little bit more than I wanted to," but argued that pressure on Iran was necessary to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
"We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon," he said.
Asked whether the conflict continuing close to the U.S. midterm elections concerned him politically, Trump pointed to gasoline prices and again emphasized preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"They cannot have nuclear weapons. It's very simple," Trump said.
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