Trump doubles down on Hormuz claim, shares map calling strait 'NEW US Territory'

US President Donald Trump on Sunday again shared an image on Truth Social describing the strategically important Strait of Hormuz as "NEW US Territory".

Trump had first shared the same image on August 18. He had previously said he could soon claim the Strait of Hormuz as US territory.

Speaking at a police academy on Long Island on August 14, Trump said, "Pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States."

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Iran Hits Back

Iran has rejected Trump's claims over the strait.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said earlier, "The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself."

He added, "Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf."

Washington prepares to impose fresh sanctions on Iran, adding to the growing economic confrontation between the two countries over Hormuz.

Iran has condemned the planned sanctions. It has warned that they could further strain its economy and affect major trading partners, particularly China, a key buyer of Iranian oil.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce what he has described as "the toughest sanctions in history" against Iran. Bessent has also urged China to cooperate with Washington over Tehran's oil exports.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei criticised the planned sanctions as an attempt to impose US authority beyond its borders. "Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law," Baghaei said in a post on X. "We are telling all nearby countries not to join the US economic war, otherwise, we will consider them as enemies."