Iran has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Washington could declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory, insisting that control of the strategic waterway remains in Iranian hands.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Friday that the strait could not be seized through political statements or military force.

“The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an order, or an election speech,” Gharibabadi said in a post on X.

He accused the United States of refusing to acknowledge what he described as its “strategic and serious defeats” against Iran, saying Tehran was neither intimidated by threats nor deterred by displays of military power.

“The Strait of Hormuz was Iran’s, is Iran’s, and will remain Iran’s,” Gharibabadi said, adding that the waterway would be opened or closed only on Iran’s orders.

He said Iran would continue its blockade of the strait until Washington accepted what he called the reality of its defeat and abandoned its “fantasies”.

Trump had claimed a day earlier that the US Navy was enforcing a complete blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and said he would declare the waterway US territory “very soon” after what he described as the complete defeat of Iran.

The US president also said on Truth Social that Washington had “full control” of the strait and believed it could maintain that control.

Iranian officials have repeatedly said the waterway would remain closed as long as the United States continued its intervention, maintained a naval blockade and failed to meet the requirements of a June framework agreement between Tehran and Washington.

Ibrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters, also rejected Trump’s assertion of US control.

“No vessel will be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Iran’s permission and supervision,” Zolfaqari said.