President Trump doubled down Tuesday on his claim to the Strait of Hormuz on behalf of America, posting a revised map of the area on social media that labeled the waterway “new US territory.”
Trump posted the image on his Truth Social site, before claiming in subsequent posts that the area had been cleared of Iranian mines and no further talks with the Islamic Republic were scheduled.
The president initially revealed the possibility of a permanent US presence in the strait during a Friday event on Long Island.
“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,” Trump said while stumping for Republican candidates in New York’s gubernatorial and congressional elections.
During the same event, the president insisted that ensuring Iran could never obtain a nuclear weapon was worth paying “a tiny little bit more for your gasoline,” adding: “I’ll never apologize. I did the right thing.”
