Day 169 | Trump says will “soon” declare Hormuz strait US territory

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Read more: Day 169 | Hormuz standoff, Red Sea port closure deepen maritime crisis

The office of ‘Israel’s’ prime minister has accused Hezbollah of “deliberately” placing civilians in harm’s way after ‘Israeli’ forces attacked areas in Nabatieh and Ansar in southern Lebanon, killing 11 people.

In a statement on X, the office said Hezbollah had attacked ‘Israeli’ troops, seriously injuring three soldiers. It said the military responded by striking what it described as a Hezbollah headquarters.

“Only later did the [‘Israeli’ military] learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound,” the statement said.

The office accused Hezbollah of using civilians as “human shields” to create what it called false accusations that ‘Israel’ deliberately targets civilians.

The ‘Israeli’ military has made similar claims during its war on the Gaza Strip, saying armed groups operate from civilian areas and facilities.

‘Israel’ has also issued mass evacuation orders affecting large parts of Gaza, including northern areas and facilities such as al-Shifa Hospital.

Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to help secure the release of three Iranian pilots it says are being held by Qatar.

In a letter published by the semi-official Fars news agency on Saturday, the General Staff said the pilots were detained after their aircraft were hit during a March mission targeting what Tehran described as an “enemy military base” in Qatar.

Iran urged the Red Cross to intervene to facilitate the pilots’ release.

Qatari authorities have not immediately confirmed the Iranian claim.

Iran’s Intelligence Ministry has accused two French diplomats of involvement in what it described as an “infiltration and interference” operation inside the country.

In a statement carried by state-run IRNA, the ministry claimed the diplomats were found at a secret meeting place while authorities were investigating two other suspects.

The ministry also alleged that documents seized during the investigation showed efforts to identify individuals, establish covert contacts and build networks inside and outside Iran.

It further claimed that contracts linked to the alleged operation bore the signature of France’s former ambassador to Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has not yet decided to resume negotiations with the United States, stressing that messages exchanged through Qatar and Pakistan do not constitute talks.

“Both Qatar and Pakistan continue to exchange messages and remain in contact with us, but that does not mean negotiations,” Araghchi told Iran’s ISNA news agency.

“No decision has yet been made to resume talks with the United States,” he added.

Hormuz reopening tied to conditions
Araghchi said Iran was working on a temporary maritime route that could later become permanent.

“Once the route is determined, whether the Strait of Hormuz is reopened depends on the fulfillment of other conditions that the United States must comply with,” he said.

The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the targeting of an ADNOC vessel while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the UAE Foreign Ministry said.

The ministry described attacks on maritime navigation and the use of the Strait of Hormuz as a tool of pressure as acts of piracy by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It called on Iran to halt its attacks and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz without conditions.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said negotiations with Oman over the past three weeks have been positive and have made progress.

Baghaei said the two sides had reached an agreement on a maritime navigation map despite what he described as obstacles imposed by Washington.

He added that the progress resulted from joint work by institutions involved in Iran’s diplomatic, defense and environmental sectors.

Regarding a statement expected from Iran and Oman, Baghaei said consultations were still underway and that it would be announced once finalized.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said he remains in contact with fighters on the front lines of what he called the “resistance front” in Lebanon.

Yemen’s Houthi group used six ballistic missiles in an attack on the port of al-Makha on Friday, according to the internationally recognized Yemeni government’s army.

One port security official was killed and two sailors went missing in the attack, while at least eight civilians were injured, the army said in a statement.

Port attack
Military spokesperson Colonel Majid al-Nuzaili said the attack targeted al-Makha, a key hub for the flow of food and other goods, as well as civilian infrastructure.

He accused the Houthi group of seeking to impose a “suffocating siege on the Yemeni people” through attacks on vital infrastructure.

Iran’s Judiciary Chief Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i has dismissed US President Donald Trump’s remarks about the Strait of Hormuz as “nonsense,” insisting that the strategic waterway belongs to Iran.

In a social media post on Saturday, Mohseni-Eje’i accused Trump of making “nonsense and falsehoods” about the strait and described him as “simple-minded.”

“In reality, the owner and ruler of this important global waterway is the Islamic Republic of Iran,” he said.

Iran warns against military challenge
Trump recently said he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran, prompting a sharp response from Tehran.

Mohseni-Eje’i said Iran had demonstrated its control over the waterway militarily and warned that any “adventurism” in the strait would result in the defeat of an aggressor.

He also argued that Iran’s claim to the Strait of Hormuz was supported by international law and principles of national sovereignty.

“Trump and his advisers must know that the boots of arrogance will never tread on the Strait of Hormuz,” he said.

Iran closed the strategic waterway as part of its response to the US-‘Israeli’ war, saying it would remain closed until its demands were met.

Earlier in August, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said reopening the waterway would depend on conditions including an end to US aggression against Iran and its regional allies, the lifting of the naval blockade and sanctions, the return of frozen Iranian assets, and compensation for damages caused by the war.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has invoked Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov to criticize US policy toward Iran and the wider region.

Baghaei accused Washington of becoming increasingly reliant on “lies” in its governance and foreign policy.

Quoting the Russian author, he said: “The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to such a pass that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him.”

Baghaei’s remarks came amid continued tensions between Iran and the US following the outbreak of war on February 28.

An “unknown projectile” struck the hull of a bulk carrier in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center said.

The crew was reported safe, while no damage assessment had been provided and the environmental impact remained unknown, UKMTO said in an update on Saturday.

Maritime intelligence group Marisks said commercial vessels face threats in both the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandeb, leaving no “genuinely safe” route on either side of the Arabian Peninsula.

UKMTO said Friday that it had received 56 reports of vessel damage in the Strait of Hormuz and nearby waters since the US-Iran war began on February 28.

Shipping traffic through the strategic waterway has remained at only a fraction of pre-war levels, reflecting continued concerns over maritime security.

Ships sail off the UAE coast near the Strait of Hormuz amid heightened tensions and renewed attacks on commercial shipping in the strategic waterway.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stressed Saturday that the Strait of Hormuz "will remain Iranian", after US President Donald Trump said he would "soon" declare the waterway part of American territory.

"The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian," Gharibabadi said on X, adding that the route "will be opened and closed only at Iran's command".

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech. Iran neither fears threats nor cowers before displays of power,” he added.

Trump had said Friday that after the United States defeats Iran, "pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States".

Iran has not made any decision to resume negotiations with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to state media.

Araghchi said that the Islamabad memorandum of understanding declared an "end to the war," rather than a ceasefire that could be extended.

He said the agreement provided a 60-day period for negotiations toward a final deal, but accused the US of violating it, leading to renewed fighting.

Araghchi said Qatar and Pakistan are acting as intermediaries by relaying messages and maintaining contact, but stressed that this does not constitute negotiations.

"We have not yet decided to restart negotiations with the US," he said.

He also said Iran's talks with Oman are entirely separate and technical, focusing on maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the movement of vessels.

According to Araghchi, previous routes are no longer viable, and Iran and Oman are working on a temporary route that could later become permanent.

He stressed that technical talks with Oman on the maritime route are separate from reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Even after a route is established, he said, reopening the waterway would depend on other conditions that the US must meet.

US President Donald Trump was “joking” about declaring the Strait of Hormuz US territory, according to Wall Street Journal journalist Brian Schwartz citing an unnamed senior official from the White House.

Trump made the outlandish claim during a speech on Friday in New York, but he chuckled afterwards.

"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," he said with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state.

President Donald Trump says he will "soon" declare the Strait of Hormuz waterway part of US territory, claiming that Iran was being heavily defeated. 

"Pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. It's true," he says with a chuckle during a political rally at a police academy in New York state.

Iran has not made any decision to resume negotiations with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to state media.

Araghchi said that the Islamabad memorandum of understanding declared an "end to the war," rather than a ceasefire that could be extended.

He said the agreement provided a 60-day period for negotiations toward a final deal, but accused the US of violating it, leading to renewed fighting.

Araghchi said Qatar and Pakistan are acting as intermediaries by relaying messages and maintaining contact, but stressed that this does not constitute negotiations.

"We have not yet decided to restart negotiations with the US," he said.

He also said Iran's talks with Oman are entirely separate and technical, focusing on maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz and the movement of vessels.

According to Araghchi, previous routes are no longer viable, and Iran and Oman are working on a temporary route that could later become permanent.

He stressed that technical talks with Oman on the maritime route are separate from reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Even after a route is established, he said, reopening the waterway would depend on other conditions that the US must meet.

UAE energy giant ADNOC announced that one of its vessels came under attack while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Friday evening, according to a statement by the company carried by state media.

“No injuries were reported, and the situation was brought under control,” the statement said.

President Donald Trump dismissed concerns Friday over living conditions and the mental health of service members on a US aircraft carrier deployed against Iran, while confirming the ship would soon rotate out.

Asked by reporters whether family members were worried about the situation on the USS Abraham Lincoln, Trump said "no, they're not."

Trump also rejected the idea that the ship -- now at sea for nine months -- had been deployed for too long. "No, no, no, not nearly enough," he said.

The president confirmed reports that the ship was due to be swapped out with another aircraft carrier, as the United States remains locked in a stalemate with Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz and the country's nuclear program.

"That ship is moving right now or very shortly and it's being replaced with another very similar ship," Trump said.

US media, including specialist military publications, have quoted multiple relatives of crew members saying living conditions have deteriorated on the Lincoln.

There have also been reports of several suicide attempts.

"A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life," acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said in a statement, blaming the media for "trying to paint our warriors as victims."

Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation.

The massive nuclear-powered ship departed California in November 2025 for duty in the South China Sea and was rerouted to the Middle East before US-‘Israeli’ attacks on Iran that began February 28.

Jonathan Schroden, chief research officer at the Center for Naval Analyses, told AFP that carrier strike groups are generally designed for six-month deployments for reasons including sailor welfare.

Media coverage of the families' complaints creates an unwelcome new front for Trump in his attempt to sell the already unpopular war.

The Republican won a second term in 2024 partly on his insistence that he would not involve the United States in so-called Mideast "forever wars."

The Iran conflict has contributed to dragging down his poll numbers.

Among details emerging from accounts by sailors' families was that two sailors had tried to jump overboard.

The US military has said that one sailor who fell into the sea on August 3 was recovered.

The ship has five chaplains, one psychologist, one social worker, a "prevention coordinator" and a dog named Captain Fathom to support crew morale and welfare.

"The Lincoln was extended because the mission demanded it," Cao said.

"Our success depends on how we adapt."