President Trump says he might declare the Strait of Hormuz a “territory of the United States” and that a bit more pain at the pump for Americans will be worth keeping a nuclear weapon out of Iran’s hands.
Mr. Trump joked about annexing the Middle East waterway during a New York speech Friday about crime in the U.S.
“Pretty soon, I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States,” Mr. Trump said.
The president based his boast on the performance of a U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports and shipping.
“The blockade is unstoppable,” Mr. Trump said.
Iran has rejected Mr. Trump’s claim of control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying ships can only pass through the waterway with their authorization.
Control of the waterway has become the main point of contention in the conflict, which began Feb. 28 with Mr. Trump’s decision to join forces with Israel and bomb Iran.
Mr. Trump’s goal is to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon. Yet Iran’s decision to harass shipping in the strait turned the conflict into an economic battle. The disruptions in the strait have forced Gulf nations to find new routes for oil and caused crude and gasoline prices to spike.
“So, for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline — Just remember, you’re doing it so that a very evil country cannot have … a nuclear weapon,” Mr. Trump said.
The average U.S. price of gas stood at $4.08 per gallon on Friday, relatively unchanged from one day prior but a 37% increase from when the war started, according to AAA motor club.
“While gasoline demand is down, crude oil prices are keeping pump prices higher than normal for this time of year,” AAA wrote Thursday in a blog post. “So far, this is the highest August on record when it comes to the national gasoline average.”
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