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. President DONALD J. TRUMP”
When asked in the Oval Office later Wednesday how serious he was about renaming the strait, Trump said the suggestion was “just thrown out there.”
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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.” The Hormuz suggestion is not entirely new. Earlier this year, Trump shared a map on Truth Social depicting the Strait of Hormuz under a different name: the “Strait of Trump.”
Trump Warns US Can Strike Iran Again ‘Any Time We Want’
The comments came as renewed fighting around 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 Tuesday again 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.
Trump told reporters Wednesday that the United States is prepared to launch additional attacks on Iran, saying U.S. forces destroyed military equipment Tehran was attempting to rebuild following overnight strikes.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said that Iran had been reconstructing radar systems, missile capabilities and a vessel designed to deploy naval mines. “We took it out,” he said.
Trump said the latest U.S. strikes were carried out in response to an Iranian attack on an American base in Jordan.
“We hit them last night because they took a shot at our base in Jordan,” Trump said. “We hit them hard last night. They gave a little love-tap, but we hit them hard.”
He added that the strikes went far beyond disabling radar installations.
“We blew up much more than their radar last night,” Trump said. “It was a very heavy attack. And we’re prepared to do another one any time we want.”
Bernie Sanders Hits Out at Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Renaming Suggestion
Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont criticized Trump’s suggestion that the Strait of Hormuz be renamed after him, telling the president that Americans wanted an end to the conflict with Iran rather than a change to the waterway’s name.
In a post on X, Sanders described the war as “illegal” and blamed it for higher fuel costs, citing diesel prices of $5.69 a gallon and gasoline prices of $4.12. He added: “You’re the President, not a mad king. Act like it.”
Reports of Civilian Casualties Emerge After Latest U.S. Strikes
Reports of civilian casualties have emerged following the latest round of U.S. strikes in southern Iran.
Iranian state media and a Baluch rights group said a missile struck a home in the coastal town of Kuhestak where a wedding celebration was underway, killing at least four people, including children, and wounding dozens more. The U.S. military said it was reviewing the reports.
Weapons analysts cited by The Associated Press said debris photographed at the site appeared consistent with a U.S.-made SLAM-ER cruise missile, a precision-guided weapon, though U.S. Central Command has not commented on that assessment. The strikes occurred near the Strait of Hormuz, where U.S. officials say they targeted Iranian air defenses, radar systems and maritime assets.
In response to the reports, the Pentagon told Newsweek via email, “We’re aware of the reports, which originated from Iranian state media. The U.S. military never targets civilians, unlike the IRGC.”
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.
Asked Wednesday how much longer the renewed U.S. military campaign against Iran could continue, Trump suggested the operation may be limited in duration. “I don’t think too long,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Trump also brushed aside concerns about the recent surge in oil prices, which have climbed as fighting around the Strait of Hormuz intensified. “They’ll come down,” he said.
Pressed on what military objectives remain after repeatedly claiming U.S. strikes had severely weakened Iran’s capabilities, Trump pivoted to the strategic waterway at the center of the conflict. The president again asserted that the United States has effective control of the Strait of Hormuz, a claim disputed by Iranian officials.
“We are controlling the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said, adding that commercial shipping was continuing through the corridor despite the hostilities. He said U.S. forces encounter only occasional resistance, claiming that Iranian drones are periodically shot down. “We have control, very strong control,” Trump said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Sam Wilson.
Update, 09/03/26 04:39 a.m. ET: this article was updated with the Bernie Sanders quote.