Trump says Strait of Hormuz will soon be a "territory of the United States"

Trump says Strait of Hormuz will soon be a "territory of the United States" The US President's latest outburst came following claims the United States "totally controls" the disputed Iranian waterway Donald Trump has announced plans to declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory of the United States." Speaking at a rally in New York 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.” Ahead of the speech, the US president told Fox News “We totally control, we own, in the true sense, we own the Strait of Hormuz,” adding that "we only allow boats to come in if we want them to come in.” Trump claimed that the US blockade of the Strait is costing Tehran “hundreds of millions of dollars every single day,” and said that sanctions imposed upon Iran are causing problems for the regime. “If they hit, we would hit back 100 times harder,” he bragged. His comments come following six months of failed negotiations with Tehran to reopen the Strait, which has remained all but closed since the US and Israel declared war on Iran in February. Earlier this week, Trump claimed the US had "total control" of the Strait of Hormuz and said "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!" in a post on Truth Social. However, a Tehran official later claimed that Iran will never make a deal with Donald Trump and will instead wait out his time as president before negotiating with a new administration. “Trump will not reach an agreement with us. We will accompany him until his term ends,” Iranian Parliamentary adviser Majid Skakeri said on Wednesday. His comments come following reports of naval personnel onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln suffering severe morale and mental health crisis after being deployed in the Middle East and spending over 200 consecutive days at sea. In a bombshell report shared by US Senator Richard Blumenthal, conditions onboard the aircraft carrier had deteriorated so badly that there were "shortages of basic supplies, water contamination, plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, deck safety concerns, and disruptions in the mail system.” Numerous sailors have reported having mental health breakdowns due to conditions on the ship, including several suicide attempts. Typically naval deployments are for between six and nine months, but during times of conflict, that can be extended. But claims of the sailors mistreatment were dismissed by Trump, who instead insisted the sailor's deployment had not been long enough. “No, they’re not,” Trump said when asked by reporters about relatives of the sailors expressing worry about their loved ones living conditions. When asked whether the Lincoln’s eight-and-a-half months at sea was too long, the president responded, “No, no, no. Not nearly long enough,” before abruptly turning to board Air Force One.