President Donald Trump is floating a new name for one of the most important waterways in the world: the “Trump Strait.”
Trump suggested Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz should be renamed after him, pointing to the U.S. military’s growing control over the narrow passage as fighting with Iran continues.
“Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!”
The proposal comes as the Trump administration argues that Iran has effectively lost control of the strategic waterway, which separates Iran from Oman and historically carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. U.S. forces have spent months clearing mines, protecting commercial shipping and striking Iranian military positions around the strait.
U.S. officials said the military escorted 40 commercial vessels carrying roughly 18 million barrels of oil through Hormuz on Tuesday, describing it as the largest such convoy of the conflict. The operation offered Washington a dramatic demonstration of its claim that the strait can remain open despite Iranian attempts to disrupt shipping, according to reports.
Iran, however, insists the Americans do not control the waterway.
Iranian military spokesman Ebrahim Zolfaghari said Thursday that Tehran had laid additional naval mines south of the strait and mocked Trump’s proposed name change, saying U.S. Central Command could “rename the Strait using Photoshop.” He added that Washington could similarly “use Photoshop to get the oil tankers through.”
The claim directly challenges Trump’s assertion that U.S. forces have cleared the mines from shipping routes. Tehran has maintained that only Iranian forces know the locations of its minefields, while the United States has accused Iran of spreading false reports about attacks on commercial vessels.
The renewed confrontation followed another round of American strikes against Iranian military targets near the strait. Trump has said the campaign is intended to defend Israel, other Middle Eastern countries and the West while ensuring commercial ships can continue moving through Hormuz. Iran retaliated with missile and drone attacks against U.S. positions in the region.
The fighting has kept pressure on global energy markets. Brent crude was trading around $95.52 a barrel Thursday, near six-week highs, as traders weighed the possibility that further escalation could again choke off shipping through the Gulf.
The USS Abraham Lincoln, meanwhile, arrived in Thailand this week after a grueling 286 days at sea, much of it spent supporting American operations against Iran. The carrier and its roughly 5,000 sailors and Marines are receiving several days of shore leave before the ship begins its return toward the United States.
For now, “Trump Strait” remains a presidential suggestion rather than an official name. But the remark underscored the larger message Trump has been pushing as the conflict enters another month: whatever Tehran may claim, Washington believes the balance of power in the Strait of Hormuz has fundamentally changed.
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