Ships near the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Musandam, Oman. [Reuters]
Ships near the Strait of Hormuz, seen from Musandam, Oman. [Reuters]

Iran fired back Saturday after US President Donald Trump suggested he would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz American territory, calling the remarks a "delusional fantasy."

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi shared Trump's comments on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday (local time), writing that the Strait of Hormuz "cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an executive order, or a campaign speech."

"Iran does not fear threats and does not yield to shows of force," Gharibabadi said. "The Strait of Hormuz belonged to Iran in the past, belongs to Iran now, and will remain Iranian territory in the future."

He urged Washington to "accept reality," saying Iran had inflicted "strategic failure and heavy blows" on the United States. "This strait will open and close only under Iran's command," he said. "As long as you remain lost in delusional fantasies and refuse to accept the reality of your defeat, Iran will maintain the blockade."

Trump made the remarks Friday (local time) at the David S. Mack Training and Intelligence Center in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, saying he would "soon declare the Strait of Hormuz to be US territory — essentially, because we're the ones blockading it."

The comments came as both the United States and Iran claim control over the strategic waterway.

Iran also shrugged off the prospect of resuming negotiations with the United States.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no decision had yet been made on whether to restart talks with Washington, according to Yonhap, which cited the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency.

"Qatar and Pakistan — the intermediaries between Iran and the United States — are in contact with Iran and exchanging messages, but this does not mean negotiations," Araghchi added.


ehkim@heraldcorp.com