Trump calls Strait of Hormuz ‘Strait of Trump’, sparks controversy

Donald Trump. Pic/AFP

US President Donald Trump on Friday (local time) referred to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz as the "Strait of Trump", later adding that he did not make any "accidents" while making these remarks.

Speaking at the event in the Future Investment Initiative Priority Summit here, Trump said, "They have to open up the Strait of Trump. I mean, Hormuz. Excuse me, I'm so sorry. Such a terrible mistake. The fake news will say 'he accidentally said it'. Now there are no accidents with me. Not too many."

In his address, Trump also claimed that Iran was under pressure and willing to negotiate, stating that Tehran had sent multiple shipments of oil as part of ongoing discussions. "They're begging to make a deal," he said, adding that negotiations were currently underway. The US President further suggested that opening the Strait of Hormuz -- a critical global oil transit chokepoint -- would be a key element in any potential agreement.

"They're being hit so hard. Anybody would be negotiating. They are negotiating. They're begging to make a deal. They're begging to make a deal. Turned out I was right. They were negotiating, which they admitted two days later. And in order to make up for their misstatement, 'We're going to send you eight ships of oil.' And the following day, I saw on one of the networks there were eight ships of oil coming out of Iran. And then they actually said, 'We're going to add an extra two.' And they added an extra two. We had 10 ships. And then people realised we were actually negotiating. We're negotiating now. And it would be great if we could do something, but they have to open it up," the US President said.

Trump has demanded that Iran fully reopen the crucial waterway within days, warning that failure to do so would lead to the US "obliterating" its power plants. However, on Thursday, he extended the deadline by 10 days, citing ongoing talks with Tehran, with the new deadline now set for April 6.

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