Remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump about the Strait of Hormuz drew a strong response from Iranian officials. Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, urged Trump to focus on his own security instead of continuing his threats.
In a post on X on Saturday evening, Azizi recalled that Trump had said he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz U.S. territory. The Iranian official said Trump should focus on his own security instead of issuing repeated threats against the strait.
In remarks the previous day, Trump had claimed that the U.S. Navy was enforcing a total blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. president also said he would declare the strait U.S. territory shortly after completely defeating Iran.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also said that the Strait of Hormuz could not be seized through a social media post, an aircraft carrier, an order or an election speech. Gharibabadi said Iran was not afraid of threats and would not yield in the face of a show of force.
A White House official said Trump had made the remark as a joke.
Concerns over maritime shipping in the Strait of Hormuz
As the impact of the war between the United States and Iran increases tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, concerns are growing that maritime shipping and global energy supplies could be disrupted.
The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. Iran also carried out attacks on locations it identified as Israeli and U.S. targets in the region. The parties later reached a ceasefire agreement.
The United States resumed its attacks on Iran between July 8 and 24. Iran, meanwhile, targeted U.S. military facilities and equipment in Arab countries. Following this period, talks on safe-passage corridors for ships in the Strait of Hormuz resumed.
Washington and Tehran had previously signed a memorandum of understanding on freedom of navigation on June 18. However, the process did not advance because of disagreements over the security of the strait.
