Overview
- President Donald Trump said on Friday he would “pretty soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory and defended a US naval blockade that restricts passage through the waterway.
- Iran promptly rejected the claim, with Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi saying the strait “has been Iranian, is Iranian and will remain Iranian” and cannot be seized by a political declaration.
- Iran and Oman have negotiated a shipping‑route map to define temporary navigation lanes, but Tehran says that technical routing does not equal reopening and that Washington must meet political and economic conditions first.
- Commercial transit through the strait has collapsed to a fraction of normal levels, ship‑tracking data show, while reports continue of attacks on vessels including an ADNOC ship and a bulk carrier struck in the waterway.
- The dispute is deepening economic and military pressure: global fuel and insurance costs have risen, the US plans additional sanctions according to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and rhetoric from both sides raises the risk of further escalation.