'Presidency-ending scandal' flagged by expert: 'Should be huge'

President Donald Trump doubled down on his threat to annex the Strait of Hormuz as a U.S. territory – which an expert flagged as a violation of international law.

The 80-year-old president first suggested the idea of taking control of the Persian Gulf waterway, which is located in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, at a campaign-style event on Friday and then claimed Monday the U.S. already controlled it, and he posted a map Tuesday morning on Truth Social labeling the area as a "new U.S. territory."

"I’m just a small-town international relations professor, but I think it should be a huge, presidency-ending scandal that the President of the [United States] regularly violates the UN Charter by threatening the territorial conquest of other UN member-states & our NATO treaty allies," said Mark Copelovitch, professor of political science and public affairs at the University of Wisconsin.

The professor linked to Article 2 of the United Nations Charter, which states "the organization based on the principle of the sovereign equality" and expressly forbids "the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

Since returning to the White House in January 2025, Trump has threatened to acquire, through force or otherwise, Canada, Cuba, Gaza, Greenland, Panama Canal, Strait of Hormuz and Venezuela, pointed out Eric Columbus, senior editor for Lawfare and a former Obama appointee.

"Again, maybe we, as Americans, have just decided that our government’s signature & ratification of treaties doesn’t matter, [because] we’re special & can just do whatever we want in [international relations]," Copelovitch said. "Fine. But then we must expect all other countries can do that, too. They also have agency & domestic politics, after all."

About 2 1/2 hours after posting the annexation threat, Trump abruptly declared peace talks with Iran were dead.

“There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump posted Truth Social. “The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect. The Hormuz Strait is open and operating. All water mines have been removed or detonated. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”