White House Says Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Remarks Were ‘Just a Joke’
A senior White House official says President Donald Trump was not serious when he suggested the Strait of Hormuz could be declared US territory, as tensions with Iran continue.
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A senior White House official said President Donald Trump’s remarks about declaring the Strait of Hormuz US territory were made jokingly and were not intended as a serious policy statement.
The Wall Street Journal quoted the unnamed White House official as saying Trump made the comments in the context of joking.
The clarification came after Trump said Friday, while speaking at a political gathering at a police academy in New York state, that the United States would soon claim the strategically important waterway as American territory.
Trump made the remark while laughing, saying: “After what we are seeing in Iran, [which] has suffered a very crushing defeat, I will very soon declare the Strait of Hormuz American territory.”
He also insisted that the Strait of Hormuz is now under US control, saying: “We have blockaded Iran’s ports, and no ship can pass unless we want it to.”
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi responded sharply in a post on X, saying: “The Strait of Hormuz was Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian.”
He also indicated that the waterway could only be opened or closed by Iran.
In earlier remarks provided for this report, Trump said the United States would soon recognize the Strait of Hormuz as US territory and deliver what he described as a devastating economic blow to Iran.
Trump also defended the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, describing it as a “steel wall” that would not be lifted even if fuel prices rose. He argued that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was a service to humanity.
Trump said his administration’s pressure campaign against Tehran had produced results that he believed the public did not fully understand. He claimed that Iran’s navy had effectively been destroyed, saying 159 Iranian ships were at the bottom of the sea and that around 212 Iranian aircraft had been shot down.
He also said Iranian radar systems and intelligence equipment had been knocked out and that the country’s missile manufacturing capacity had been reduced by roughly 82%.
Trump further claimed that much of Iran’s leadership had been eliminated and said this had left no viable counterpart for negotiations. He also said Iran’s currency had become valueless and that the country was experiencing 350 percent inflation.
Trump criticized media coverage that he characterized as inaccurate and dismissed reports suggesting Iran was faring well in the conflict as “fake news.”
The United States and Israel began their war against Iran on Feb. 28, with the stated aim of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and weakening its military capabilities.
In response, Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important waterways for energy transportation. The threats and restrictions on navigation have contributed to instability in global markets and rising fuel prices.
Iran has maintained that the waterway’s operation is subject to its decisions, while the United States has sought to maintain pressure on Tehran through its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The White House clarification now frames Trump’s suggestion of declaring the Strait of Hormuz US territory as a joke rather than a formal policy position.