IranA Claim of Sovereignty: Trump Says He Will Declare Hormuz US Territory as Two More ADNOC Vessels Are Struck
Day 168 in one line: the "might keep it" of Day 167 became an announced intention to annex — Trump told a rally he will declare the Strait of Hormuz American territory once Iran is defeated — while Iran struck two more Emirati tankers in the waterway both sides now claim to own.
"A Territory of the United States"
Speaking at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York, at an event for Republican candidates, Trump said: "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." The remark, delivered with a chuckle to applause, escalates the "total control … might keep it" formulation logged on Day 167 into a stated intention to claim sovereignty. Reporting was uniform that the claim has no clear path: the strait runs through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, is governed as an international waterway under the law of the sea, and Iran has asserted control over it since 1979.
Tehran’s Response and the Domestic Backdrop
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs — the official who described the framework as not a reopening on Day 160 — answered on social media with defiance, repeating the claim back and rejecting it. The domestic context reported alongside the remarks is its own data point: a Quinnipiac poll from late July found 60 percent of US voters oppose military action against Iran, the midterms are approaching with control of Congress in the balance, and reporting suggests strained munitions stockpiles limit further escalation. At the same rally Trump asked Americans to accept higher petrol prices during the war.
Two More ADNOC Vessels Struck
The UAE accused Iran of attacking two more ADNOC commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, with no injuries reported. The Emirati foreign ministry said attempts to use the strait as a tool of economic coercion amount to "piracy" and constitute a direct threat to regional stability and the global energy supply. It is the third such incident involving ADNOC ships in under a week, following the tanker struck on Day 162. The company’s running total is at least 16 vessels attacked since the war began, with one crew member killed and 20 injured; the fatality occurred when the crude tankers Al Bahyah and Mombasa B were hit in July.
An Oil Spill Off Oman
Salvage work began on the tanker Caroline Bezengi, which is leaking oil off the Omani coast following an earlier kinetic incident and grounding. The vessel was carrying sanctioned Russian crude. The environmental damage is the war’s first significant marine pollution event to be logged here, and it sits at the mouth of the same waterway both capitals are claiming.
Yemen: Four Killed at al-Makha
Yemen’s government said a Houthi attack on the government-held port of al-Makha killed at least four people. It is the third strike logged on that port in a week, after the seven killed on Day 163 and the ballistic missile attacks on Day 165, and it continues the campaign against the Red Sea coast that Saudi Arabia depends on as its alternative to Hormuz.
The West Bank: A Multi-Day Siege at Qusra
Israeli settlers and soldiers conducted a multi-day siege and forced eviction of Palestinian homes at Qusra, with families driven out and buildings seized for use as military barracks; Israeli forces blocked activists from reaching the besieged families, and the UN and the Palestinian ministry condemned the operation. Coordinated settler attacks also struck Taybeh, the last all-Christian town in the West Bank. Separately the Israeli military announced plans to transfer law enforcement in the occupied territory to the police. Ledger note: this tracker ingested the Qusra siege across five windows spanning two days; it is recorded here as one continuing operation.
Status Assessment
Tracker status holds at WAR RESUMED. Day 168 marks the furthest either side has moved from a negotiated outcome since the Day 156 climbdown. Washington is no longer describing a temporary shipping arrangement but a permanent territorial claim over a waterway it does not border; Tehran is attacking the vessels of a Gulf state that has spent the war urging restraint. The Omani framework, drafted eight days ago to manage transit lanes, now sits beneath two competing sovereignty claims. US strikes on Iran remain paused since August 1, and the strait remains closed.