US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as “Trump Strait,” claiming the strategic waterway is under U.S. control as tensions with Iran escalate.
Why does Trump want to rename the Strait of Hormuz?
Trump’s proposal comes amid an escalating conflict with Iran and his repeated calls for U.S. control over the strategic waterway. He has recently described the strait as U.S. territory and argued that it could be given a new name.
“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 suggestion comes less than a week after Trump ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed “Lake America” amid a trade war with Canada.
Trump also renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” on his first day back in office in January 2025. Neither Mexico nor Canada has accepted the changes.
Many of Trump’s previous proposed geographical name changes began as apparently jovial remarks before he moved to implement them.
Has Trump previously sought control of the Strait of Hormuz?
Trump has repeatedly pressed his threat to claim sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks, including by posting a map showing the waterway as a “new US territory.”
The strait remains a central flashpoint in the conflict with Iran because of its importance to global energy supplies. Iran has effectively shut down the chokepoint during the war, with about a fifth of the world’s oil passing through the waterway.
The latest proposal to rename the strait comes as military tensions around it continue to rise. Oil prices have also risen again after U.S. forces launched fresh strikes near the waterway on Tuesday.
Trump said the strikes were carried out in response to what he described as new Iranian efforts to lay mines near the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed fighting has further complicated the future of one of the world's most important oil shipping routes, while Trump's proposed “Trump Strait” name adds a striking political dimension to the dispute.
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