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U.S. President Donald Trump insisted this Tuesday on calling the Strait of Hormuz "new U.S. territory," by posting a photograph on his social network Truth Social with this designation.
The image shows a map of the strait that separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, where a circle marks the Strait of Hormuz and the text "NEW United States territory," accompanied by a blue, red, and white stripe with stars.
Last Friday, Trump already stated that he planned to incorporate the Strait of Hormuz as "United States territory" after "defeating Iran," raising the tone against Tehran while his negotiations remain stalled and the deadline for the ceasefire agreed upon in June has expired.
"After we finish defeating Iran, which is being defeated very badly, I will very soon declare the Strait of Hormuz, in essence, United States territory. We have a blockade. No ship gets through unless we want it to get through," Trump declared then at a political rally in Long Island (New York).
A few days earlier, the U.S. president had already mentioned the idea of the United States "keeping" the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that it already controls the maritime route because U.S. strikes carried out since February have decimated Iranian military capabilities, something Tehran has rejected.
"The United States has total control of the Strait of Hormuz. I think we will keep it!" Trump wrote last Wednesday on his Truth Social network, asserting that "there is nothing Iran can do about it."
Yesterday, August 17, marked the end of the 60-day deadline that the United States and Iran set for themselves with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on June 17, which declared the "immediate and permanent cessation of military operations on all fronts," as part of a process to negotiate an end to the war in the Middle East.
The Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, is one of the world's main routes for oil and gas transport and has become the biggest flashpoint in the conflict between the United States and Iran.
[Publicidad]