Adedokun Waliyu 
Iran has rejected US President Donald Trump’s threat to declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory, insisting that the strategic waterway will remain under Iranian control.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Saturday that the strait “has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian,” adding that it would only be opened or closed under Iran’s authority.
Trump made the controversial remark at a political rally in New York on Friday, saying that after the US defeats Iran, he would “pretty soon” declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States. However, an unnamed White House official later reportedly clarified that Trump was joking.
The dispute comes amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict and continued attacks on vessels passing through the waterway.
The United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company, ADNOC, said one of its vessels was attacked on Friday night. The UAE had previously accused Iran of attacking two other vessels linked to the company.
Iran has also demanded several conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to what it describes as aggression against Iran and its allies, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets and compensation for wartime damage.
Before the conflict, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas exports, making any disruption to shipping through the waterway a major threat to global energy markets.
Iran has indicated that it reached an understanding with Oman on a route for ships to transit the strait and that arrangements were being finalised for the two countries to jointly manage the waterway.
The United States, meanwhile, has imposed a retaliatory blockade of Iranian ports as part of efforts to weaken Tehran’s economy.
The prolonged disruption has pushed up energy prices and created additional political pressure on the Trump administration as the November midterm elections approach.
