WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday suggested renaming the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait”, claiming that the strategically important waterway was now under US control amid escalating tensions with Iran.
“Now that we have it under USA control, should we change the name Hormuz Strait to Trump Strait??? Like America itself, it would be ‘hotter’ than ever before!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 2, 2026
Strait of Hormuz is a strategically important waterway through which a major share of the world’s oil supplies passes.
Both Washington and Tehran have also targeted shipping through the strait during the US-Iran conflict. Iran has attacked vessels it says attempted to cross the strait without permission, while the United States has enforced a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
US vows economic pressure on Iran to end war
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would seek to “sever every tie” Iran has with the outside world as the “fastest way” to end the conflict.
“We are going to sever every tie that they have from the outside world,” Bessent said in an interview with Fox News.
Also Read: US Vows to ‘Sever Every Tie’ Iran Has to Outside World as ‘Fastest Way’ to End War
The US Treasury Secretary urged governments and other actors to “stay away” from Iran, saying the fastest way to end the conflict was for no one to support the Iranian government.
“We all want this conflict to end, and the fastest way for the conflict to end is for no one to provide any support to this regime,” Bessent told “Fox & Friends”.
.@SecScottBessent: “We are going to sever every tie that [Iran] has to the outside world… This is all hands on deck.” pic.twitter.com/BYmW0HdH3g
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 2, 2026
US sanctions campaign against Iran
Bessent said on Tuesday that the administration could target airline leasing companies and impose additional sanctions on Iranian banks.
He also said Washington was seeking to identify and freeze assets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including offshore accounts and properties.
“We are going to economically asphyxiate this regime,” Bessent said during a discussion moderated by economist Larry Kudlow ahead of meetings with G20 finance ministers in Asheville, North Carolina.
Also Read: Tehran Retaliates After US Strikes Kill 11 In Southern Iran
“My job is to make sure that they want to have a deal, and they will want to have one,” he said.
Bessent said US authorities were tracking IRGC assets in the British Virgin Islands and elsewhere and would work with international partners to freeze them.
The Treasury Department last week announced what it called “Operation Economic Outcast”, aimed at isolating Iran economically alongside a US naval blockade that President Donald Trump reimposed in July.
Bessent has said the sanctions campaign could either weaken the Iranian government or force it back to negotiations.
