Trump claims US will soon declare Strait of Hormuz American territory

US President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States would soon declare the Strait of Hormuz American territory.

Speaking at the David S. Mack Training and Intelligence Center in Garden City, Nassau County, New York, Trump said, "Essentially, yes — because we're blockading it."

Trump said during the speech that "Iran is getting beaten very badly right now" and declared that "no ship can go through" the Strait of Hormuz "unless we want it to."

The remarks appeared on their face to be a territorial claim over the strait, but analysts interpreted them as an exaggerated assertion that the United States holds effective control over the waterway.

He said the US was "doing really well" in the war against Iran — "doing well on every front" — and added that while he had used the military somewhat more than he had intended, it was justified. "We cannot allow Iran to have nuclear weapons," he said.

Trump also called Iran "the No. 1 state sponsor of terrorism in the world" and said he did not want the country to obtain nuclear weapons.

Addressing the surge in gas prices caused by the Iran war, Trump urged Americans to remember that any extra cost at the pump was the price of keeping "a very evil country" from acquiring nuclear weapons. "You're buying it at $4 a gallon, but that's OK. I'm not going to apologize. I did the right thing," he said.