Iranian FM: Renaming Hormuz would be "terrible mistake"

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has rejected claims referring to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Trump Strait,” saying the vital waterway cannot be called by any other name.

In a post on X, Araghchi linked the issue to Iran’s observance of Persian Gulf Day, which commemorates the expulsion of Portuguese forces from the Strait of Hormuz four centuries ago, Caliber.Az reports.

Today is Persian Gulf Day in Iran, marking our ancestors' expulsion of Portuguese from Strait of Hormuz 400 years ago.

POTUS uses the correct term “Persian Gulf", not the Pentagon’s fake version. But calling Hormuz anything else is indeed a "terrible mistake". pic.twitter.com/KcGwj83W2B

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 30, 2026

“Today is Persian Gulf Day in Iran, marking our ancestors' expulsion of Portuguese from Strait of Hormuz 400 years ago. POTUS uses the correct term “Persian Gulf", not the Pentagon’s fake version. But calling Hormuz anything else is indeed a "terrible mistake",” Araghchi wrote.

The remarks came amid renewed debate over geographical naming linked to the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil shipping route connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

In March, Trump jokingly referred to the Strait of Hormuz as the “Strait of Trump” during a speech at the Future Investment Initiative in Miami, drawing laughter from the audience.

Iran has to “open up the Strait of Trump — I mean, Hormuz,” Trump said while discussing the strategic waterway, a vital global oil-shipping route and a key choke point in the conflict involving Iran.

“Excuse me. I’m so sorry. Such a terrible mistake,” he added, feigning an apology before continuing: “The fake news will say, ‘He accidentally said’ — No, there’s no accidents with me, not too many. If there were, we’d have a major story.”

By Aghakazim Guliyev