Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, said that the Strait of Hormuz can only be closed or reopened by Tehran’s command, rejecting comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that Washington would soon declare the waterway American territory.
Trump made the remarks at a campaign event in Garden City, New York, telling supporters that after Iran’s defeat he would pretty soon declare the strait a U.S. territory. Writing on X, Gharibabadi said the waterway “cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech,” adding that Iran fears neither threats nor displays of power.
In a separate post, Gharibabadi said the strait “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian” and warned that Iran would continue enforcing its blockade of the waterway until Washington accepted its “strategic and heavy defeats.”
The exchange comes amid a monthslong war between Iran and the United States that began in February with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian military and infrastructure sites. A ceasefire MoU reached with the mediation of Pakistan and Qatar later collapsed, and both sides have continued exchanging strikes, with control of the Strait of Hormuz remaining a central flashpoint.
