President Donald Trump stated on Friday that the United States has established an effective blockade over the Strait of Hormuz and announced intentions to declare the international shipping corridor an American territory following ongoing military operations against Iran.
Speaking to an audience at an event in Garden City, Trump addressed U.S. military engagements in the Middle East, domestic energy prices, and foreign policy operations involving both Iran and Venezuela.
“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. “Essentially, that’s what it is. We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to.”
During the address, Trump linked international military operations to domestic economic conditions and fuel costs, rejecting criticism from political opponents regarding inflation and living costs.
“The Democrats saying that is a hoax, because they’re the ones that cause the affordability. We’re bringing the prices way down. Look at what’s happening. Coming way down,” Trump said.
Trump also referenced past operations involving Venezuela, stating the outcome led to increased oil access for the United States.
“Venezuela was a one-day war, and now we work great with them. We’ve taken in millions and millions of barrels of oil. But we’re doing really good. We’re doing good in every way,” Trump said. “You know, I built the military, and now I used it a little bit more than I wanted to, frankly, but that’s okay, because we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon.”
Recounting discussions with administration officials—naming Howard Lutnick, Scott Bessent, and Marco Rubio—Trump described the timeline leading up to recent military actions. He stated that following domestic travel to Iowa, energy prices had dropped to between $1.85 and $1.95 per gallon before attention turned to national security concerns in the Middle East.
“I meet them the following day. I said, I have bad news for you guys. We have to make a little journey to the Middle East because we have to put out a potential disaster, a potential very big fire — a fire like you’ve never seen,” Trump said.
Trump stated that U.S. strikes involving B-2 bombers targeted facilities to prevent Iran from developing nuclear capabilities.
“We can’t let Iran keep going. They would have had a nuclear — if we didn’t hit the B-2 bombers, if we didn’t hit them, you would have had a nuclear weapon, and it would have been a very sad day for this country and for the entire world,” Trump said. “So I said, we’re going to have to put out the fire in the Middle East, and we’ve done that. They’re never going to have a nuclear weapon.”
READ: Iran Strikes UAE Tanker In Hormuz As Israeli Strikes Kill Nine In Lebanon
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