US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory once the war with Iran is over, giving no further details of how he would do so.
"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 an appearance in the state of New Jersey.
Oil prices have surged as a result of the Iran war, as Tehran has disrupted shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz with threats. The waterway is one of the most important trade routes for oil and gas and a central point of contention between Washington and Tehran.