'Change Name To Trump Strait?': US President Denies Plans After Pitching New Name For Hormuz

New Delhi : US President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the "Trump Strait", citing that the United States now has control over the critical waterways.

Trump raised the suggestion in a statement on his social media platform, asking, "Now that we have it under U.S.A. control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to TRUMP STRAIT???"

He further asserted that the suggested title would be "hotter" than ever before.

However, when reporters later asked him whether he actually intended to rename the strait after himself, Trump dismissed the idea. "No, no ... it was just thrown out there," he said.

Trump's comments came amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route.

 

During a press conference at the White House, Trump said the US is in control of the waterway and claimed American forces hasdestroyed Iranian military equipment being rebuilt along the strait. "We are controlling the Strait of Hormuz... Every once in a while, they shoot a drone and knock it down. But we have control, very strong control," Trump said.

He claimed Iranian forces have been rebuilding radar and missile systems and were also developing a rocket capable of dropping mines. "They were trying to build a rocket that drops mines. Who does that? Did you ever build a rocket that drops? I never heard of such a thing, but that's what they were doing," Trump said.

According to Trump, the system was nearly complete when US forces destroyed it.

 

The US President also said Washington is prepared to launch further strikes against Iran "any time we want", following another round of attacks. "It was a very heavy attack last night, and we're prepared to do another one any time we want," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, said a US strike on Tuesday night hit a wedding party in southern Iran, killing at least four persons and injuring dozens. The US Central Command said it was looking into the reports and maintained that the US military "never targets civilians."