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GARDEN CITY, United States: President Donald Trump said Friday he would \u201cfinish defeating\u201d Iran and \u201csoon\u201d declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory.<\/strong><\/p>\n 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 \u2014 an assertion the Islamic republic denies.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated \u2014 pretty soon I\u2019ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,\u201d he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump was joking, the Wall Street Journal reported.<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi fired back Saturday in a post on X, stressing that the \u201cStrait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis strait will only be closed and opened under Iran\u2019s command,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Trump, together with Israel, launched a war against Iran on February 28 with Tehran retaliating by establishing de facto control over much of the Strait of Hormuz, a passageway also vital for commodity shipping.<\/p>\n The United States remains locked in a stalemate with Iran over the strait, with Iran denying access to much of the civilian shipping and the US Navy mounting a blockade of Iranian ports in an attempt to cripple its economy.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to,\u201d Trump said to a cheering crowd of supporters and police.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n