President Trump told a crowd on Long Island Friday that he intends to declare the Strait of Hormuz "a territory of the United States," a striking claim over one of the world's most contested waterways delivered in the same breath as an admission that Americans should expect to keep paying more at the pump because of the ongoing conflict with Iran, according to reporting from the Daily Beast.

"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," Trump said, according to multiple outlets covering the event. He went further, claiming operational control over the strait already exists: "We have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to."

"A Tiny Little Bit More"

The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage between Iran and Oman through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil traffic normally flows, has no legal path to becoming US territory — it is bordered by two sovereign nations and its shipping lanes are governed by international maritime law, not any single country's claim. Still, Trump used the moment to address soaring gas prices, which have pushed the national average to $4.07 a gallon for regular fuel amid the broader US-Iran conflict. "For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember, you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have ... a nuclear weapon," he told the crowd, per the Daily Beast's account.

"WE HAVE THE BLOCKADE. NO SHIPS GET THROUGH UNLESS WE WANT THEM TO."

The remarks landed awkwardly against Trump's 2024 campaign pledge to bring down energy costs on his first day in office, and NBC News' live coverage of the day's political developments noted Democrats moving quickly to highlight the contrast ahead of the midterms. The comments also come as tensions in the strait itself have been escalating: the United Arab Emirates this week accused Iran of drone attacks on two of its state oil tankers transiting the passage, part of what Abu Dhabi's ADNOC says is now 15 vessels struck since the US-Israel campaign against Iran began in late February.

The White House has not issued a formal policy statement clarifying what, if anything, a US "territorial" claim over the strait would mean in practice, and no administration official has explained how such a declaration would be reconciled with international law or the sovereignty of Iran and Oman. For now, the remarks stand as rally rhetoric — but ones that allies and rivals in the region are likely to be parsing closely in the days ahead.