President Donald Trump announced Friday that he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz part of American territory once Iran is defeated, while also touting what he described as overwhelming U.S. success against the Iranian regime during a campaign rally in New York.
Speaking at a rally on Long Island in support of New York gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, Trump said, “After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”
Trump argued that the military campaign against Iran benefits not only the United States but the entire international community. “What we are doing [in Iran] is a great service for the world, not only for ourselves, for the world,” Trump continued.
The President also asserted that the extent of America’s battlefield success has exceeded public understanding. “Nobody has any idea how successful we are [in Iran]. You know who knows how well we are doing? Iran.”
Trump on Iran:
Pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. pic.twitter.com/ySyIIhvF5V
— Clash Report (@clashreport) August 14, 2026
Pointing to Iran’s air force, Trump claimed it had been completely destroyed. “They had 212 very nice airplanes, some bought from the United States, brilliantly, through Obama. And every one of their airplanes is shot down, it’s gone,” Trump said.
He went on to describe Iran’s governing structure as having been effectively dismantled, saying there was virtually no one left with whom to negotiate. “no leadership. Their leadership is gone. Their second tier is gone. The third tier is half gone. That’s one of my problems, that there is nobody to negotiate with. It’s a problem. It’s the only country in the world where nobody wants to be president.”
A day earlier, Vice President JD Vance outlined the administration’s objectives in the confrontation with Iran during an interview with Fox News, saying the White House is focused on preserving stable global energy supplies while ensuring Tehran never acquires nuclear weapons.
Explaining the administration’s priorities, Vance said, “It’s ensuring that the Gulf countries continue to send oil and gas to the world economy so that we have energy price stability. That’s obviously important for the American people. I know that oil is down today and it’s way down from the highs in the early days of the conflict. That’s goal number one, keep oil and gas cheap for Americans all over our country.”
Vance added that preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons remains the administration’s second major objective. “And then obviously goal number two is [to] ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. I feel confident we’re accomplishing both of those goals, but it’s inherently an unpredictable thing because the Iranians themselves are unpredictable and they sometimes don’t honor the commitments they’ve made to us,” Vance concluded.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also signaled that the United States is preparing a dramatic escalation in its economic campaign against Tehran, saying additional measures will be announced in the coming days.
“Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country,” Bessent told Newsmax in an interview.
He added that the administration intends to combine unprecedented sanctions with continued restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz. “It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports,” he added.
{Matzav.com}