Iran has sharply rebuked US President Donald Trump over his proposal to rename the Strait of Hormuz as the 'Trump Strait', with Tehran warning him that his fate in those waters would be to 'drown in the fury of the Iranian nation'.
The warning came in a post on X on Thursday, September 3, from Iran's embassy in India. The embassy dismissed Trump's assertion of US control over the strategic waterway, calling the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz no place for 'wishful thinking'.
Alongside the message, the embassy posted an illustration showing Trump struggling in oil-covered waters of the Strait of Hormuz, surrounded by ships and sea mines, with the Iranian flag visible on the shore. A speech bubble in the image read: 'I want the Strait, cause I'm a King!'</p
The response came after Trump took to social media on Wednesday, September 2, to propose the renaming. 'Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???' he wrote. The White House later posted a map showing the waterway labelled 'Trump Strait'.
The suggestion fits a pattern of geographical renaming proposals Trump has made during his presidency, several of which began as seemingly light-hearted remarks before he moved to pursue them formally. He has also repeatedly raised the prospect of claiming US sovereignty over the strait in recent weeks, at one point sharing a map describing it as ‘new US territory’.
Iran has effectively closed the chokepoint during its ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. The strait is one of the world's most critical energy corridors, with about one-fifth of the world's oil normally passing through the route. Any disruption there is a major concern for global energy markets.
Oil prices rose again after US forces launched fresh strikes near the strait on Tuesday, September 1, in response to what Trump described as renewed Iranian efforts to lay mines in the waterway.
