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US President Donald Trump called the Strait of Hormuz “American territory” and warned that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue over the strategic waterway.

Addressing a rally in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Friday, Trump said the US could not allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon.

"We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon; we cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon, or you will see some very bad things," Trump said.

"We went down, and we stopped them; they will never have a nuclear weapon," he added.

Trump Claims Control Over Strait Of Hormuz

Trump said Iran wanted to reach an agreement but questioned whether Washington would accept a deal, while asserting that the Strait of Hormuz was under US control.

"They want to make a deal so badly, we don't even know if we want [a deal] because I view the Strait of Hormuz as an American territory right now, it's an American territory," Trump said.

Earlier, while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews before leaving for Myrtle Beach, Trump claimed that the United States had “total control” over the Strait of Hormuz and backed the idea of declaring the strategic waterway US territory.

"We're just going to sort of see what happens, and we have total control, as you know, of the border; we have total control -- if you look at the blockade, we have total control of that entire region having to do with the Strait of Hormuz," Trump said.

He also said Iran wanted a deal but was not ready for what he described as the “right deal”.

"So they would love to make a deal, but they're not ready to make the right deal in my opinion," Trump said.

Iran Rejects Trump’s Claims

Trump's remarks came amid continued tensions between Washington and Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global energy supplies passes.

Trump had earlier shared an AI-generated image on his Truth Social platform depicting the strategic waterway as "NEW U.S. Territory", while continuing to assert that the United States controlled the region.

Iran rejected Trump's claims.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US president's assertions about the Strait of Hormuz would be “corrected” either by circumstances or by Iran.

"Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, soon his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will either be corrected or we will correct the delusions of this deluded man," Gharibabadi said in a post on X.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council head Mohsen Rezaei also criticised Trump's remarks.

"The gap between America's inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself. Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf," Rezaei said in a post on X.

Trump Warns Of Economic Consequences

Trump had recently announced what he described as the "most crushing economic operation ever taken" against Iran.

He also warned countries providing financial, business or government support to Tehran of "tremendous economic consequences."

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States fulfils commitments under a 14-point memorandum of understanding.

The commitments include lifting the blockade, releasing frozen Iranian assets and easing oil sanctions.