WASHINGTON, August 17. /TASS/. US President Donald Trump said he has warmed to the idea he expressed last week to declare the Strait of Hormuz American.

"I just think it's a great idea," he said, responding to a request from journalists to clarify his comment about the intention to declare the Strait of Hormuz "US territory" soon. "We control it with the blockade, and I like the idea of declaring it a territory. We have total control over the Strait."

"The strait is open," Trump continued. "Maybe that will stop, or maybe it'll open up even further. But we're taking out millions of barrels of oil a week."

Trump added that the price of oil is declining and will continue to do so unless the United States decides to do something "far more drastic." He did not specify what he meant.

Russian air defenses down 822 Ukrainian drones overnight

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainian drones were intercepted over the Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Voronezh, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Rostov, Ryazan, Tambov and Tula regions, the Moscow region, Krasnodar Krai and the Republic of Crimea, as well as over the Azov and Black Seas

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