Trump Suggests US Could Become an “Occupying Power” in Iran Amid Ongoing Tensions

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump suggested Friday that the United States could effectively become an occupying power in Iran, claiming that American forces control the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and are extracting unprecedented quantities of oil from the waterway.

Speaking to reporters after delivering a speech at a NASA facility in Florida, Trump compared the conflict with Iran to the Russia-Ukraine war, which he claimed resulted in 25,000 deaths during October.

Referring to the fighting between Moscow and Kiev, Trump said, “That’s called a war.” He argued that the US confrontation with Iran, now in its ninth month, should not be described as a war because, according to him, nobody had been wounded in recent months.

“All we are is maybe an occupier. [We] could be an occupier,” he added.

Trump also reiterated his claim that Washington has control over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital international shipping route through which significant volumes of global energy supplies pass. He further claimed that the United States was extracting more oil from the strait than at any previous time in its history.

When questioned about reports of US strikes near Iran’s Qeshm Island on Friday, Trump initially declined to provide details but acknowledged that American forces had conducted limited military operations.

“I don’t want to talk about. We do minor strikes,” he said.

He also claimed that Iranian forces had established an anti-aircraft installation that US forces destroyed within minutes.

The remarks followed Trump’s confirmation earlier in the week that American forces had struck an Iranian air defense facility on Qeshm Island. He described the operation as a limited attack rather than a resumption of full-scale hostilities.

Iran, however, has rejected Washington’s claims of controlling the Strait of Hormuz, insisting that Tehran retains strategic authority over the waterway and will not reopen it until its demands are met.

The United States and “Israel” launched their military offensive against Iran on February 28. A ceasefire was subsequently reached in April, followed by a memorandum in June aimed at paving the way for a peace agreement. However, diplomatic negotiations have yet to produce a final settlement.