Strait of Hormuz 'will remain Iranian': Deputy foreign minister

TEHRAN, Aug 15: Iran on Saturday fired back at US President Donald Trump's claim that he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, saying the crucial energy waterway it has blockaded "will remain Iranian".

Trump has repeatedly said the strait, which Tehran effectively closed at the start of the Middle East war in late February, is under US control -- an assertion the Islamic republic denies.

"The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister KazemGharibabadi said on X.

"This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran's command."

Trump told a political rally in New York state on Friday that after the US defeats Iran, "pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States".

"It's true," he added.

An unnamed White House official later clarified that Trump was joking, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Last week, a top Iranian official laid out a laundry list of conditions for reopening the strait, including an end to the "war and aggression against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq".

Mohammad BagherZolghadr also demanded the end of crippling sanctions, the release of frozen assets and compensation for wartime damage.

As diplomacy stalls between the decades-long foes, attacks in the Hormuz strait have continued, highlighting the continued risks to regional shipping.

United Arab Emirates' state-owned oil giant ADNOC said Saturday one of its vessels came under attack the night before.

On Friday the Gulf nation blamed Iran for other attacks on two vessels linked to ADNOC as they passed through the strait.

Such attacks led to the collapse of an April ceasefire between the United States and Iran.

As Iran throttles traffic in Hormuz, its Houthi allies in Yemen have also declared a parallel maritime blockade on Saudi ports in the Red Sea, the oil-exporting giant's only other maritime route.

A June deal between Washington and Tehran -- meant to serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations on a permanent settlement -- had said Iran and Oman would hash out future arrangements for the strait in discussion with other Gulf countries and "in line with the applicable international law".�" AFP