Trump says 'pretty soon' he'll declare the Strait of Hormuz a 'territory of the United States'

President Donald Trump told a crowd in Nassau County, New York, on Friday that he plans to make the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory as the two countries continue to spar over control of the strait. Trump declared: "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 also told the crowd: "For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country." The announcement follows escalated tensions between the U.S. and Iran, including missile strikes and stalled peace negotiations. Trump cited preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons as justification for military action and acknowledged that elevated gas prices—currently around $4 per gallon nationally—resulted from these operations. Vice President JD Vance had acknowledged domestic political pressure over rising oil and gas prices the previous day.