US President Donald Trump declared on Saturday that he intends to designate the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes) as US territory once military operations against Iran conclude, a claim Iran's deputy foreign minister swiftly rejected, insisting the strait "has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian." Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi separately confirmed that Tehran has not decided to resume negotiations with Washington, blaming the US for renewed hostilities following a ceasefire memorandum signed in Pakistan in June, while noting that any restoration of Hormuz shipping lanes depends on conditions the US must first meet. With six months of fighting having failed to unseat Iran's leadership or reopen the strait, Washington is now signalling a shift toward unprecedented economic pressure, including new sanctions and a continued naval blockade of Iranian ports, though analysts warn the strategy may not achieve regime change.