As fighting between the United States and Iran intensified around the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that the strategic waterway be renamed the "Trump Strait" after saying it was under U.S. control. The president posted on Truth Social, "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!
Thank you for your attention to this matter. TRUMP" The comments came as renewed fighting around the the critical shipping corridor pushed the strait back to the center of the widening conflict between Washington and Tehran. This week, U.S. strikes have targeted Iranian military assets around the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway that handles a significant share of global oil shipments.
Washington has cast the operations as part of an effort to secure maritime traffic through the narrow passage, while Iran has portrayed the attacks as another step in a widening U.S. campaign against the country. Trump said again Tuesday that the United States now had "almost total control" of the strait, which Iranian officials have rejected. The president said last month that he could soon declare the Strait of Hormuz a "territory of the United States." Iran responded Wednesday by widening its attacks on U.S. partners in the region.
Following earlier missile launches at U.S. facilities in Jordan, Gulf states including Kuwait and Bahrain reported coming under attack, though no casualties were immediately disclosed. Iraqi Kurdish authorities also said they intercepted explosive-laden drones near Irbil, underscoring concerns that the conflict is spreading beyond its original flashpoints. The fighting has renewed concerns about the security of the Strait of Hormuz, which remains only partially open despite repeated U.S. assurances that shipping can transit the route.
Before the war, roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil moved through the channel. Attacks on commercial vessels and continued military activity have disrupted traffic and fueled volatility in energy markets, with oil prices climbing sharply since hostilities resumed. The renewed exchanges have also raised fears that the conflict could move beyond the cycle of calibrated strikes and reprisals that has defined much of the war.
The latest attacks also come as Iran faces mounting economic pressure and the United States confronts growing political and military costs from a conflict that has now dragged on for six months. The Hormuz idea fits a broader pattern in Trump's second term, which has featured a series of high-profile renaming efforts. Days before proposing "Trump Strait," the president ordered federal agencies to adopt "Lake America" in place of Lake Ontario, reviving a controversy similar to his earlier push to rebrand the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America." Also, the Hormuz suggestion is not entirely new.
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