United States President Donald Trump on Sunday again shared an image on his social media platform, Truth Social, describing the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz as “NEW US Territory,” even as Iran maintained that the waterway was closed and would remain so unless Washington changed its approach. Trump had first shared such a map on August 18, as the 60-day negotiating period between Washington and Tehran to finalise a peace deal expired.

The map, posted on Truth Social, shows a circle drawn around the strait — the narrow passage between Iran and Oman at the entrance to the Persian Gulf — with the words “New US Territory” displayed over the area. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States has control of the Strait and that Washington will soon claim it.

Earlier today, Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), Mohsen Rezaei, on Saturday (local time) said the Strait of Hormuz remains closed and will not reopen until the United States fulfils its commitments and changes its behaviour.

“The Strait of Hormuz is closed, despite American claims, and will not open until America corrects its behaviour. This time, America must first fulfil its obligations,” Rezaei said during an interview with IRIB.

Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has surged nearly fourfold in two weeks, with vessels increasingly using a US-backed route along Oman’s coast despite continuing tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Nearly 200 ships crossed the waterway last week, compared with about 150 the previous week and only 40 two weeks earlier, according to data from the UK Maritime Trade Operations centre.

More than 80 per cent of liquid cargo vessels travelling through the strait over the past two weeks either used a route on the Omani side or disappeared from tracking systems, according to maritime intelligence company Kpler.