Donald Trump has proposed renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself as fighting between the U.S. And Iran intensifies.
The former president, 79, floated the idea on Truth Social yesterday amid the ongoing military conflict that began earlier this year. His post came weeks after he declared the vital oil passage “new US territory,” a claim that drew fierce pushback from Iranian officials.
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. Control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???,” he wrote on the platform. “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!”
Iran has not publicly responded to the “TRUMP STRAIT” post as of this writing. The strait, which Tehran controls, handles a significant percentage of global oil shipments and has become a flashpoint in the widening war.
The renaming proposal follows a pattern of geographic rebranding that has marked Trump’s recent months in office. On August 27, he signed an executive order instructing federal agencies to adopt “Lake America” as the new name for Lake Ontario within U.S. Borders. The U.S. Geographic Names Information System formally implemented the change by Saturday, August 29, drawing sharp criticism from Canada.
Rep. Debbie Dingell accused Trump of using natural resources “as a political pawn” to “escalate an unnecessary trade war” with the neighboring nation.
The Hormuz proposal also arrives on the heels of a separate dispute over Iran’s Kharg Island that unfolded last week. Trump shared video footage on Truth Social that appeared to show the country’s main oil export hub demolished, claiming it had been “blown to smithereens.” The U.S. Defense Department later clarified that American forces had not actually struck the facility.
Hamid Bovard, chief executive of Iran’s government-run National Iranian Oil Co., dismissed Trump’s claims entirely. “Trump’s tweets are laughable and conditions in Kharg are calm and appropriate,” he said.
One Trump supporter embraced the strait renaming idea in a reply under the former president’s post. “Hahahahahahahahaha please do it, that would be amazing,” the fan wrote. “The left will lose their already small minds. Surprises me they lose their minds for you renaming things.”
The conflict with Iran began at the start of the year when the nation was attacked by the U.S. And Israel, drawing it into a war that has continued to escalate through the summer months.