Symbolic imageTrump says he will declare Strait of Hormuz US territory
US President Donald Trump said on Friday he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States. Tehran rejected the claim.
Trump spoke on Friday, 14 August, in Garden City, New York, saying the declaration would come "after we finish defeating Iran" and calling the US naval blockade a "wall of steel". On Wednesday he had posted, "I think we will keep it." Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi replied on X that the strait "cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier".
Blockade tightens as talks stall
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent promised on Thursday "economic isolation like the world has never seen before" next week, alongside a blockade sealing Iranian ports. Iran's Tasnim agency reported that the outline of a plan to bar US, Israeli and other "hostile" vessels has been approved.
Record deployment strains crew
Trump dismissed reports of psychological emergencies on the USS Abraham Lincoln, calling its 250-plus days at sea "not nearly enough", and confirmed the USS George Washington will relieve it. FAZ, citing US media, reports a sailor went overboard in a suicide attempt on 3 August; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the situation is misrepresented.
Oil market
Brent crude stood at $88 a barrel on Friday amid warnings about Iran's economy.
Other opinions
Even right-leaning outlets break with Trump's line: The American Conservative and a Jerusalem Post opinion piece say Iran, not Washington, is setting the terms.