WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait”, even as fighting raged with Iran over control of the crucial waterway
It is the latest in a series of geographical name changes floated by Trump, and comes after he claimed US sovereignty over the strait that Tehran effectively shut six months ago.
“Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
Just a week ago, Trump ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed as “Lake America” amid a trade war with Canada.
Trump also renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on his first day back in office in January 2025.
Neither Mexico nor Canada have accepted the changes.
Many of the previous name changes apparently started as jovial remarks by the 80-year-old US president before being followed through to make them a reality.
Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly pressed a threat to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, even posting a map showing the waterway as a “new US territory.”
But Iran has effectively shut down the chokepoint, through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, in retaliation for the war Trump started along with Israel in late February.
Oil prices are rising again after US forces launched fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in response to what Trump said were new minelaying efforts by Iran.
Later on Wednesday, Trump said the renewed US campaign against Iran would not continue for “too long.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Iran was trying to build a rocket that drops mines and the US had destroyed it. He also said Iran had been working to restore its radar and missile systems, which were also targeted in the US strikes.
“We took out all of the new equipment that they tried to build along the Strait of Hormuz — some defensive, some offensive … It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one any time we want,” he said.
Source: Saudi Gazette