RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from The Independent — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 13 sourcesTehran has called on the US to accept defeat as it says it is no longer negotiating with Washington
Bookmark Comments Go to comments Bookmark popover Removed from bookmarks
Donald Trump has threatened to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory , escalating his rhetoric over control of the waterway amid the war with Iran .
The US president said he would make the designation “pretty soon”, as Tehran and Washington remain at an impasse over the future of the strait nearly six months after it was closed when the US and Israel launched their war on 28 February.
“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,” Mr Trump told a crowd of law enforcement officers.
“Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
Iran has remained defiant in its stance, calling on the US to accept defeat and declaring that Tehran had decided not to resume talks.
“This strait will be opened and closed only under Iran’s command, and so long as you do not accept the reality of defeat and stop indulging in fantasies, Iran will continue to enforce the blockade,” Iran’s deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, posted on X early on Saturday.
On Friday, just two vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz with no crude oil shipments visible, according to analysis from ship-tracking firm Kpler. Before the war, more than 130 ships would transit the strait daily.
Foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian news outlet Shahrara News in an interview published on Saturday that Washington must meet Iran’s conditions on the strait in order for shipping to resume.
Addressing the June ceasefire which has been left in tatters, Mr Araghchi added: “We did not have a ceasefire in the first place that we would now want to extend. We had ‘the end of the war’, and now there is a new situation.”
But Mr Trump, speaking to a political rally in New York’s Garden City, warned Americans they will have to accept higher gas prices as the war continues.
That paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline” is worth it to ensure “a very evil country” cannot have a nuclear weapon, is one of the president’s stated rationales for the war.
The average US price of a gallon of gasoline was about $4.08 (£3.02) on Friday, up 29 per cent from a year earlier, according to the American Automobile Association.
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.