Trump Claims Strait of Hormuz as US Territory

President Donald Trump has claimed the Strait of Hormuz as new United States territory, posting a map on Truth Social to support the declaration. This move follows a naval blockade and the collapse of a June memorandum of understanding, which Trump declared over on July 7. He has ruled out any current or scheduled negotiations with Tehran, asserting that the US controls all ship passage through the strategic waterway.

In response, the Government of Iran has shifted toward a fully offensive military posture. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei restructured the leadership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to signal this aggressive turn. Iranian forces are now assessing potential strikes against US military targets in Europe, specifically the Bezmer air base in Bulgaria and assets in Cyprus. Tehran has also examined the possibility of sabotaging subsea fiber-optic cables within the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has conditioned the reopening of the strait on the US lifting oil sanctions, releasing frozen assets, and ending its naval blockade. While Iran reported reaching a shipping route agreement with Oman, the standoff continues to disrupt global trade. Separately, US Ambassador Tom Barrack condemned eight Israeli airstrikes on Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase as an unnecessary escalation.