Strait talk

Trump recently claimed that he would make the Strait of Hormuz American territory. Claiming sovereignty over someplace means more that just writing your name on a map with a sharpie.

“Western powers have attempted to control the Strait of Hormuz before. Basically, however, they only held it at Iranian sufferance. When, as in 1622, the Iranians determined to expel the foreigners, they proved able to do so. Nowadays they have 50,000 drones and have damaged or destroyed all 17 US bases in the region, so I don’t think trying to occupy Hormuz would be any fun.

“It was known as a strategic trading port even before the age of the great maritime empires.”

Marco Polo visited twice and wrote about it.

“Portugal took the island of Hormuz briefly in 1507-1508, and then came back to rule it 1515 to 1622. This occupation was during the Little Ice Age and we don’t hear as much about fatal heat. Although the Portuguese were now imperial administrators, they ruled through a vassal dynasty of the kings of Hormuz.

“Interestingly, as Willem Floor observes, “Hormuz continued for some time the age-old policy of paying an annual fixed tribute (moqarrariya) to the mainland rulers to ensure safe passage of commercial traffic to and from the island.”

“Over 500 years ago, Iran was collecting tolls for passage through the Strait of Hormuz!”

Trump is just bloviating. He has no intention of stationing hundreds of thousands of US troops permanently at the Strait, which is what it would take to seize and hold it. The Iranians see Trump’s hollow boast for what it is.

“Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Kazem Gharibabadi  replied, “Trump says he will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz as US territory after Iran’s defeat! The Strait of Hormuz cannot be captured by a tweet, an aircraft carrier, an order, or an election speech. Iran is neither afraid of threats nor intimidated by displays of power.”

Just more reality TV cosplay from the orange man in the White House.

https://www.juancole.com/2026/08/reinvents-portuguese-territory.html

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