Trump says he views strait of Hormuz as ‘American territory’

President at rally in South Carolina makes comments on key strategic waterway and jokes about bombing Iran

Donald Trump called the strait of Hormuz “an American territory” on Friday, as the US continues its military blockade of Iran’s shipping and ports while Trump’s administration struggles to end its war with the country.

“We don’t even know if we won, because I view the strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now,” Trump said, addressing a crowd in South Carolina. He was campaigning for senator Darline Graham, who is running to permanently fill her late brother Lindsey Graham’s Senate seat.

“It’s a Friday night. We have plenty of time,” Trump said before reciting The Snake, a poem he frequently uses at campaign rallies to underscore his anti-immigrant policies. “What the hell do I have to do? Go back and bomb Iran a little bit more?”

As of Friday, American forces have redirected 68 commercial vessels to comply with the blockade, the US Central Command (Centcom) wrote on social media.

The US and Iran have failed to negotiate a peace deal as the conflict approaches the six-month mark. The Trump administration is seeking to squeeze Iran financially, restricting access to the strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for the country’s oil exports. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil supply typically passes through the waterway, which is bordered by Iran and Oman.

“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,” he said during a speech at a New York police academy.

“We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory,” he told reporters on Monday when asked about that comment.

He also posted an image of a map to social media labeling the waterway as a “new U.S. territory”.

Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, dismissed Trump’s comments as “delusions”.