President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz as US territory in a post on Truth Social. Sharing a crude map of the region with a large blue circle over Hormuz, the post declared the vital shipping route as “NEW US territory”. All water mines have been removed or detonated”.
However, data shared by analytics company Kpler with The Independent shows that only ten vessels passed through on Monday, compared to 130 to 140 before the war. Trump earlier confirmed that there are “no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled” with Iran. US Special Envoy Jared Kushner, who is also Trump’s son-in-law, recently told Fox News Iran is ”not showing any interest” in a deal that is in the Trump administration’s best interest.
Iran had earlier said the shipping route is to remain closed until the US meets the conditions agreed in an interim deal, according to Iran’s top negotiator Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf in comments shared by state media. Conditions include lifting the marine blockade and sanctions as well as freeing Iran’s frozen assets. The United Arab Emirates' defence ministry imposed an indefinite trade embargo on Iran after saying that two ballistic missiles launched on Tuesday were fired by Iran.
The ministry said the missiles targeted "maritime traffic" based on its assessments. Both missiles fell into the sea, it said. "The defence ministry affirms its full readiness to deal with any threats and firmly confront anything that aims to destabilise the state's security," it added.
On Tuesday, some residents received an alert warning of a missile threat. Later, the alert was lifted, and residents were asked to resume normal activities. The first missile fell outside the country's territorial waters, while the second fell within territorial waters, according to the ministry of defence.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei rejected early on Wednesday the statement by the UAE, describing it as "baseless” and a “false flag operation”. US Under Secretary of War Michael Duffey has blamed the Biden administration following reports of the military’s dwindling weapons stockpile. As the Iran war drags on, there have been multiple reports of the US military burning through long-range missiles and interceptors.
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