Washington, Sept 2. (dpa/GNA) – US President Donald Trump, has floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself on his Truth Social platform, provocatively asking whether the waterway should be rechristened “TRUMP STRAIT.”
“Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???” he posted. “Like America itself, it would be “hotter” than ever before!”
Trump has repeatedly announced or ordered the renaming of geographic locations, most recently the US-Canadian border Lake Ontario to Lake America. Canada has rejected that renaming.
In the case of the Strait of Hormuz, it remained unclear how Trump envisages renaming the waterway. Iran has territorial waters on its northern side, and Oman on its southern side.
At its narrowest point, the strait measures only about 39 kilometres. Since Iran and Oman each claim a 12-nautical-mile zone (about 22.2 km), the territorial waters of both countries overlap. No international waters exist in this area. Nevertheless, commercial vessels were able to pass through the strait unhindered before the war began. The Strait of Hormuz is central to global trade in oil, gas and fertilizer.
Trump had previously spoken half-jokingly about renaming the Strait of Hormuz after himself. Last month, he also said he wanted to declare the strait US territory after the end of the Iran war, without giving further details on how this would be implemented.
After the war began, Iran started to largely blockade the Strait of Hormuz through threats and attacks on ships. This has since become the central point of contention between Washington and Tehran in the Iran war.
Rising fuel prices during the war are putting Trump and his Republicans under pressure at home ahead of the important congressional elections in early November.
Despite existing restrictions on commercial shipping in the strait, the US administration repeatedly claims that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control.
GNA