Miami, 28 March (H.S.): US President Donald Trump turned heads on Friday with a quip renaming the Strait of Hormuz the Strait of Trump, insisting Iran must reopen the vital waterway to seal any peace deal in the month-long conflict roiling the Middle East.
Speaking at the Saudi-backed FII Priority investment forum here, the 79-year-old Republican leader repeated claims that Tehran is eager for talks despite its denials. We're negotiating now, and it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up, Trump said, before the slip: They have to open up the Strait of Trump – I mean Hormuz. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. Such a terrible mistake.
He quickly added with a grin, There's no accidents with me, not too many, drawing chuckles from the crowd while brushing off expected media backlash.
The remark fits Trump's penchant for branding – he's rechristened Washington's Kennedy arts center the Trump-Kennedy Center, a local peace institute in his name, and even floated dubbing the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America post-inauguration.
On Thursday, during a cabinet huddle, he mused about seizing Iran's oil fields outright, echoing past moves on Venezuela, even as US, Israeli and Iranian forces trade drone and missile barrages.
Trump painted Iran as reeling, touting damage to its navy, air force, nuclear sites and leadership after US forces unleashed 850 Tomahawks in recent days – a barrage Pentagon brass called alarmingly low in stockpile terms.
Yet he's dialed back escalation: earlier this week, he paused strikes on Iranian power plants for 10 days at Tehran's reported request, extending a prior five-day hold, and hinted at significant areas of consensus in backchannel chats.
The Hormuz chokepoint, now stalled since late February when US-Israel strikes ignited the war, carries one-fifth of global oil and has spiked energy costs worldwide.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Friday that Tehran eyes a permanent tolling system for ships, a red line as Trump pushes for uranium stockpile surrender and zero oil exports from Iran.
Adding intrigue, Elon Musk joined Trump's Tuesday call with India's PM Narendra Modi on the crisis – an odd move for a private citizen amid wartime diplomacy, per US officials cited by the New York Times – though neither leader confirmed Musk spoke.
Trump, fresh off reelection, frames the war as birthing a new Middle East free of Iranian nuclear blackmail, vowing no letup till demands are met.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
