Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz as ‘Trump Strait’
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Vessels near the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman. US President Donald Trump has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the waterway.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- President Trump suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as "Trump Strait" amid ongoing tensions with Iran but later said he was not serious about the idea.
- Trump has a pattern of renaming geographical locations after himself, including Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico, despite international rejection.
- The conflict near the Strait of Hormuz continues with fresh US strikes on Iran, raising fuel costs and political tensions in the US ahead of midterm elections.
AI generated
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump on Sept 2 suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait” despite ongoing clashes with Iran – then hours later implied he was not serious.
Trump has made a series of geographical name changes to international bodies of water in his second term, at least partly with the aim of trolling other countries.
The latest suggestion came as he insisted the US had full control of the crucial waterway, even as fresh clashes raged there with Iran.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!” he said on his Truth Social network.
The White House later posted a map of the Gulf on social media with his suggested name, adding: “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
The US President has in recent weeks repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, even posting a map showing the waterway as a “new US territory”.
However, he later played down the idea of rebranding the strait.
“It was just thrown out there,” he said with a chuckle after an AFP reporter asked him in the Oval Office if he was serious about renaming it.
But a number of the 80-year-old Republican’s previous suggestions have been dismissed as being humorous before they ended up happening.
Last week, he signed an order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” amid a trade war with neighbouring Canada, just days after apparently raising the idea in jest.
He also renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on his first day back in the White House in January 2025. Neither Mexico nor Canada has accepted the changes.
Trump has gone on a spree of renaming things after himself, including the Kennedy arts centre in Washington. Meanwhile, the US Treasury on Sept 2 issued US$1 coins featuring Trump’s face to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
The Iran war remains a deadly serious issue, with no sign of ending more than six months after the initial US-Israeli assault.
Fighting has flared again after weeks of calm, with US forces launching fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz on Sept 1 in response to what Trump said were new mine-laying efforts by Iran.
Iran said one of the US strikes killed four people at a wedding, branding it a “war crime”, and launched a wave of retaliatory strikes at US bases in Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq.
At home, Trump has presided over a steep rise in US fuel costs as a result of the war and his Republican Party looks likely to lose at least partial control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes, in retaliation for the war the US President started along with Israel in late February.
Trump said on Sept 2 that the US was ready to attack Iran again, while adding that the renewed campaign would not last “too long”.
“It was a very heavy attack last night, and we’re prepared to do another one any time we want,” he told reporters in the Oval Office. AFP
