President Trump just floated a move that would completely rewrite the fight over one of the most important waterways on Earth.

Speaking Friday in Garden City, New York, the president said he may soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a territory of the United States.

It was a remarkable line, even by the standards of a war that has repeatedly broken old assumptions about American power in the Middle East.

Here is the moment President Trump connected the idea directly to the blockade already being enforced by the United States:

President Trump said Iran is being “very badly defeated” and argued that the United States already controls which vessels can pass through the strait.

ADVERTISEMENT

He then warned that more ships could be destroyed if they attempt to challenge the blockade.

The president’s language sounded partly playful, but the military posture behind it is anything but a joke.

The Associated Press reports that President Trump made the statement while discussing the war with Iran and the extraordinary deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln. The carrier has been supporting U.S. operations for more than 260 days, with the USS George Washington expected to move into the region as its replacement.

The report also notes that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has rejected claims that conditions aboard the Lincoln were being inaccurately portrayed. U.S. Central Command has pushed back as well, while Navy officials say they have not observed an increase in suicidal thoughts or attempts aboard the carrier.

Meanwhile, the United States has reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, and Hegseth says American forces can maintain that pressure for as long as necessary.

This report captures the military posture behind President Trump’s new declaration:

What are your thoughts?

NATIONAL POLL: Do You Approve of Sec. of War Pete Hegseth? vote now

TAP HERE TO ADD YOUR VOTE

The stakes were driven home again this week when two tankers operated by the United Arab Emirates’ state-owned oil company were attacked while passing through the strait.

The Associated Press reports that the United Arab Emirates blamed Iran for drone strikes that caused minor damage but no casualties. British maritime authorities also received reports of two vessels suffering minor damage in drone attacks in the same area.

ADVERTISEMENT

The UAE called the attacks piracy and accused Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps of using commercial shipping as leverage. Iran had not immediately responded to that accusation.

That is the reality behind President Trump’s remark: the Strait of Hormuz is not an abstract line on a map. It is a wartime choke point where American sailors, allied vessels, global energy supplies and Iranian forces are already colliding.

Democrats quickly seized on the strain facing the U.S. military. Rep. Jason Crow accused President Trump of not caring about service members or their families after the president rejected claims that the Lincoln’s deployment had gone on too long.

Crow posted his criticism alongside the exchange:

Questions about deployment length and conditions aboard the carrier deserve direct answers. So does the much larger question President Trump just put on the table: what legal and military status does the United States intend to impose on a waterway it says it already controls?

No formal declaration has been issued. But President Trump made his strategic view unmistakable.

He sees the Strait of Hormuz as a critical asset the United States is already prepared to dominate — and he is now openly talking about making that control permanent.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

Join The Conversation. Leave a Comment.