US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested changing the name of the Strait of Hormuz to “Trump Strait” amid renewed clashes with Iran, although he later appeared to downplay the proposal.
The suggestion is the latest in a series of geographical name changes Trump has promoted during his second term, some of which have been viewed as attempts to provoke or mock other countries.
Trump made the latest proposal while insisting that the United States had full control of the strategically important waterway, even as fresh fighting with Iran continued in the area.
“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!” Trump said on his Truth Social network.
The White House later shared a map of the Gulf on social media featuring Trump’s proposed name and added: “It’s got a nice ring to it.”
In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and previously shared a map depicting the waterway as a “new US territory.”
However, the president later appeared to dismiss the renaming suggestion.
“It was just thrown out there,” Trump said with a chuckle after an AFP reporter asked him in the Oval Office whether he was serious about changing the name.
Some of Trump’s previous geographical renaming proposals were initially dismissed as jokes before eventually becoming official US policy.
Last week, Trump signed an order renaming Lake Ontario as “Lake America” amid a trade dispute with neighbouring Canada, days after apparently raising the idea jokingly.
Iran war continues
Trump 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 recognised the change.
Trump has also backed renaming other locations after himself, including the Kennedy arts centre in Washington.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury issued $1 coins featuring Trump’s portrait on Wednesday as part of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.
The ongoing conflict with Iran remains a major issue, with no indication of an end more than six months after the initial US-Israeli assault.
Fighting has intensified again following several weeks of relative calm, with US forces launching fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday in response to what Trump described as new Iranian efforts to lay mines in the waterway.
Iran said one of the US strikes killed four people at a wedding and described the incident as a “war crime”. Tehran subsequently launched retaliatory strikes against US bases in Jordan, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iraq.
The conflict has also contributed to rising fuel costs in the United States, while Trump’s Republican Party faces the possibility of losing at least partial control of Congress in the November midterm elections.
Iran has effectively closed the strategic waterway, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes, in retaliation for the war Trump launched with Israel in late February.
Trump said on Wednesday that the United States was prepared to launch another attack against Iran, while indicating that any 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,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.