United States President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory”, escalating his position on control of the strategic waterway amid the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Trump made the declaration on Tuesday through a graphic shared on Truth Social, his social media platform, which identified the Strait of Hormuz as a “NEW U.S. Territory”.

The same graphic was later shared by the official White House account on X.

The graphic features a map of the Strait of Hormuz, highlighted in blue, with a circle around the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. The words “NEW U.S. Territory” are displayed across the image.

Trump’s latest move comes days after he said the United States could take control of the strategic passage following the defeat of Iran.

Speaking at a political rally in New York State on Friday, Trump said, “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.”

“It’s true,” he added.

Trump had previously described the proposal as “a great idea” and “an excellent idea”, pointing to the presence of US naval forces and the blockade in the region.

The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy route, with about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies typically passing through the waterway. (Nigerian Tribune)