Dorothy

President Trump on Monday said making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory would be a “great idea,” repeating a proposal he floated in a speech a few days ago.

President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on declaring the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory, asserting that Washington has “total control” of the strategic waterway as Tehran threatened a military attack to break the U.S. naval blockade and declared a shift toward a more offensive posture.

Trump posts map labeling Strait of Hormuz as US territory President Trump posted an image of a map labeling the Strait of Hormuz as a U.S. territory early on Tuesday in an apparent effort to double down on his calls to annex the waterway. The map, which Trump posted on his Truth Social account, labels the waterway as a “new U.S. territory.” The Strait of…

The dispute over Hormuz has been at the heart of the collapse of the June memorandum. Tehran has asserted that the agreement gave it authority to manage shipping through the strategic waterway and subsequently attacked vessels it accused of using unauthorized routes, while Washington has rejected Iran’s interpretation and demanded unrestricted, toll-free commercial passage.

Since the US and Israel attacked Iran in February, Tehran has largely blocked the vital waterway - through which about a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas usually passes. Reopening it has been a key point of discussion.

The key waterway remains closed to commercial traffic due to the ongoing conflict between the United States and Iran. Negotiations have not resulted in a permanent reopening of the strait so far.

Oman, which says it is a neutral country in this conflict, has suffered a number of strikes from Iran since the conflict broke out. However, it is now playing a role in negotiating with Iran to reopen the strait.

Tehran instead announced an understanding with Oman on a new commercial transit route through the strait, but the plan cannot take effect without U.S. approval, and leaves unresolved Washington’s blockade, Iran’s nuclear program and the broader negotiations.

Trump also said Iran should surrender to end the war, telling Fox News, "They should put up the white flag of surrender." He has maintained that preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remains the administration’s central objective.

On 8 July, Trump declared the ceasefire was "over". As the ceasefire neared its formal expiry on Monday, Trump also posted on his Truth Social network to say: "The number one goal is, and always will be, that Iran cannot have, in any way, shape, or form, a nuclear weapon."

On Truth Social, President Trump wrote that preventing Iran from gaining a nuclear weapon remains the top priority for the United States. The blockade is already costing the Iranian regime hundreds of millions of dollars each day. Additional Treasury sanctions are expected this week, adding more domestic pressure on officials in Tehran.

The ceasefire arrangement was repeatedly tested by attacks on commercial shipping and U.S. retaliation inside Iran.

Iran “can be a nuisance,” Mr. Trump said Monday. “They can put a mine in the water, and people don’t like having mines hit their billion-dollar ship. But the blockade has been very effective.”

Trump described the Iranians as “good poker players, but they’re dying.” The blockade is already exacting a real cost, and the domestic midterms are irrelevant to how he forms his approach. He confirmed that American officials are maintaining a direct back channel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, speaking not only with the political leadership in Tehran but with the IRGC officials themselves.

Trump also confirmed to Yingst that U.S. officials have a direct backchannel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a claim the IRGC publicly denied hours later.