US President Donald Trump said Friday he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.

“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 at the new Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York.

Trump also said the US blockade of the strategic waterway remains in place, claiming that “no ships get through unless we want them to.”

Iranian military officials, however, disputed US control over the waterway, with Iran’s central military command on Thursday calling the claims “baseless lies and fabrications.”

As of Aug. 12, in the 166 days since the war began, 3,371 vessels have crossed the strait, around 20% of pre-war traffic volumes, according to data from Kpler, a commodities and shipping data analytics firm, cited by CNN.

The US and Iran agreed to a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire in April and later signed a deal on June 17, launching negotiations toward a final agreement. But the talks later stalled over disagreements on security guarantees and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most strategic routes for global energy supplies and trade.

From July 8 to 24, the US and Iran exchanged more military strikes, with Washington launching attacks on targets inside Iran. Tehran responded by striking what it described as US military facilities and equipment in several Arab countries, including Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait. (AA)

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