Trump says will 'soon' declare Hormuz strait US territory
· United Arab Emirates
Trump says will 'soon' declare Hormuz strait US territory
President Donald Trump said Friday he would "finish defeating" Iran and "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, AFP has reported.
Trump has repeatedly said that the key energy waterway, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war, is under US control — an assertion the Islamic republic denies.
"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," he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state.
"It's true," he added.
An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump was joking, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Source: Khaleej Times - Top Section