Trump wants Strait of Hormuz renamed 'Trump Strait' amid US-Iran war

US President Donald Trump made the suggestion a day after the US Central Command (Centcom) carried out another round of attacks on Iranian military targets

US President Donald Trump has suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself, claiming the strategic waterway is now under US control despite continued attacks on ships in the region.

 

In a social media post on Wednesday, Trump wrote, "Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???"

 

Trump made the suggestion less than a day after US forces struck several targets in Iran. At least four people, including two children, were killed in an attack on a wedding in the southern Iranian city of Sirik.

 

US strikes Iranian military targets

 

According to  US Central Command (Centcom) , the strikes targeted air defence systems, radar installations, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications facilities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

 

 

The latest strikes followed a roughly month-long pause in active fighting between the US and Iran. On Sunday, the US military said it had attacked two Iranian launchers on Larak Island that were preparing to fire rockets carrying naval mines into the Strait of Hormuz.

 

Iran responded to Tuesday’s US strikes by launching missiles at American bases in the region. The renewed fighting pushed oil prices up by about 4 per cent.

 

Trump has proposed other name changes

 

Trump’s suggestion is the latest in a series of geographical renaming proposals by the US president. A week earlier, he ordered Lake Ontario to be renamed "Lake America" amid an ongoing trade dispute with Canada.

 

Earlier in his second term, Trump also announced that the Gulf of Mexico would be renamed the "Gulf of America". Mexico and several other countries have rejected the change.

 

Both Lake Ontario and the Gulf of Mexico have been known by their current names for centuries, and the US shares borders with both.

 

US says Hormuz is under its control

 

Trump and his administration have repeatedly said that Iran no longer controls the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway carried about one-fifth of global oil trade before the war began on February 28. However, shipping through the strait remains far below pre-war levels and has declined further in recent days as military strikes have resumed after a weeks-long pause.

 

The Trump administration has also said that overall oil exports from the region are now higher than before the war if shipments through pipelines operated by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which bypass the Strait of Hormuz, are included.

 

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Wednesday that more than 17 million barrels of oil passed through the strait on Monday, calling it a wartime record. Before the conflict began on February 28, about 20 million barrels a day of crude oil and petroleum products moved through the waterway.

 

Iran disputes US claims

 

Iran continues to reject Washington’s claims that the strait is open and under US control. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said civilian areas and infrastructure had been hit in several provinces. It also said a wedding ceremony in Kuhestak, in Sirik County, was among the locations targeted.

 

Centcom spokesperson Navy Captain Tim Hawkins told TIME, “We are aware of reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The US military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC."

 

The IRGC later said it had carried out retaliatory attacks on US bases in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain, as well as another American facility in Iraq.

 

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia also accused Iran of attacking an oil tanker, saying two people were killed.

 

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a monitoring agency affiliated with the British Royal Navy, has reported attacks on vessels travelling through the Strait of Hormuz almost every day.