Trump maps Hormuz as American territory

US President Donald Trump posted a map on his social media platform on Tuesday showing the Strait of Hormuz as a new American territory, in a fresh jibe at Tehran, while saying that no talks with Iran were under way or scheduled.

Trump has been pressing his threat to claim sovereignty over the crucial energy waterway as the nearly six-month-old Iran war grinds on with little sign of resolution. "NEW US Territory," Trump wrote on his Truth Social network, posting the map showing the Strait of Hormuz.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaee mocked Trump's claim. "The gap between America's inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance," he writes on X, "Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf."

This is not the first time that Trump has threatened to annex foreign territory. Since returning to power in 2025, he has threatened to make Canada the 51st US state, seize Greenland and Cuba, and has even alluded to taking control of the Gaza Strip, without following through on any of these threats.

Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner said on Monday that the United States and Iran were having "very positive and active conversations", but in a second post, Trump denied that was the case. "There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.

Iran has effectively shut down the chokepoint, through which a fifth of the world's oil transits, in retaliation for the war Trump started along with Israel in late February. The US leader revisited the idea again on Monday in comments to reporters in the Oval Office, suggesting it would be a good idea.

"The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect," Trump wrote on Tuesday. "The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated." US sources told AFP there had been "positive" discussions with the Iranians, but added that Trump had decided to wait and asked his team not to engage until Iran was ready to make a deal.

Before the Iran war erupted on February 28, the Strait of Hormuz was an open international waterway. Iran says it will not reopen the strait until Washington meets a sweeping list of demands, including ending the US blockade of Iran's ports, lifting oil sanctions, freeing up frozen Iranian assets and paying war damages.

"I want to state clearly that the Strait of Hormuz will not be opened until the American commitments stipulated in the memorandum of understanding... are implemented," Iran's top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said in a speech broadcast on state television.

Kushner told Fox News on Monday that Trump "is going to be very patient... he doesn't want to rush to a deal". But Tehran appears to be content to wait out second-term president Trump, whose approval ratings are falling as his promises to keep the United States out of another "forever war" ring hollow.

The Iran war has driven up prices for US consumers ahead of crucial midterm elections in November that will decide whether Trump's Republicans keep control of Congress. Trump has shown signs of frustration, threatening on Monday to "bomb the s***" out of US ally Oman if it interferes with a deal on the Strait.

As part of diplomatic efforts, Qatar, a key mediator in the stalled US-Iran talks, said on Tuesday that an agreement between Iran and Oman over the Strait of Hormuz would make it easier to resume negotiations to end the Middle East war.

Also, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged Trump in a call ?to continue talks with Iran to de-escalate ?tensions between the two countries, and offered Ankara's support in peace efforts, the Turkish presidency said in a statement ?on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates' defence ministry said that two missiles were launched at it from Iran but added that both missiles fell in water – one outside the UAE's territorial waters, and the second within. "The Ministry of Defence confirms that it is on high alert and fully prepared to deal with any threats," it said.