Continuing a long-running trend of openly mocking Donald Trump’s social media posts, Iranian diplomats one-upped him on Tuesday after the American president repeated his claim about declaring the Strait of Hormuz a new US territory.
Channelling Trump’s social media persona, the official X account of the Iranian Consulate in India parodied his claims of the United States “owning” the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian diplomats in India posted a map of the USA, specifically singling out California and labelling it the “NEW TERRITORY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.”
According to the Migration Policy Institute, the largest population of Iranian immigrants in the United States calls California home.
Which Trump post was Iran’s Consulate in India responding to?
Earlier this week, Trump already indicated his plans to make the much-contested waterway an American territory. Taking to social media, he again doubled down on his ambitious claim on Tuesday (US time). Posting an edited and revised map image on Truth Social, the POTUS highlighted the Strait of Hormuz and labelled it the “new US territory.”
NEW TERRITORY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN https://t.co/ztkafmWLtZ pic.twitter.com/OdOQnNS3h3— Iran In Hyderabad (@IraninHyderabad) August 18, 2026
In a series of subsequent posts, the MAGA leader claimed that all the Iranian water mines had been removed or detonated. Despite previously saying that his administration had established a back channel with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he proclaimed that no talks or conversations were underway with Tehran.
“The Naval Blockade remains in full force and effect,” he asserted. “The Hormuz Strait is open and operating.”
Both the United States and Iran are embroiled in a standoff, as both sides continue to claim ownership and authority over the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas generally passes. At an event in New York on Friday, Trump went as far as insisting on a permanent US military presence in the area.
He further added that oil and gas price hikes, which Americans have vehemently criticised and blamed Trump for, were worth the cost as long as Iran doesn’t possess a nuclear weapon.
Iranian leader blasts Trump’s Strait of Hormuz claims
In a separate post, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi didn’t hold back from unloading on the US president for reimagining the Strait of Hormuz as an American territory.
Poking sarcasm at the POTUS, the Iranian official wrote in a post on X, “Just as Trump correctly wrote the name of the eternal Persian Gulf, his delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct the delusions of this delusional man.”
Gharibabadi’s message alludes to an Associated Press report from last year suggesting that Trump had plans to rename the Persian Gulf to Arabian Gulf or the Gulf of Arabia during his then-scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE from May 12 to May 15.
Iran’s tussle with the US over the name of that body of water is also an old one. The issue especially evokes strong emotions among Iranians, given their country’s long history as the Persian Empire. Trump initially angered Iran over the use of the name Arabian Gulf instead of Persian Gulf during his first term in 2017. Iran’s then-president, Hassan Rouhani, hit back at the Republican politician, saying that he needed to “study geography.”
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei also mocked Trump’s claim to the Hormuz Strait. Responding to the POTUS’ Truth Social post highlighting a reimagined map, the Iranian official posted a photo that read “Some dreams are too far from reality.”
“The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself,” Rezaei wrote on X, adding, “Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf.”
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who was Tehran’s leading negotiator during talks with the US, also laid out a current status check regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
He stressed that the waterway will remain closed until the US accepts Iran’s demands and lifts the naval blockade targeting Iranian ports.
As quoted by the semi-official Mehr News Agency, Ghalibaf said, “The Strait of Hormuz will not open until the blockade is lifted, frozen assets are released, the oil embargo is lifted, and threats and military operations on all fronts end, as well as other terms of the memorandum.”
As the US-Iran conflict enters its sixth month, shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely affected. Preliminary shipping data on Tuesday showed ship crossings through the waterway were still stuck in single digits on Monday, Reuters reported. An average of 140 ships a day crossed through the strait before the war. Consequently, benchmark Brent crude oil futures have hit an all-time high of $126 a barrel, about 74% above pre-war levels. On Wednesday, Brent crude prices were still anove $91 a barrel.
The gap between America’s inability to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and its claim to own it is greater than the 7,000-mile distance between Washington and the Strait itself.
Welcome to the post-American order in the Persian Gulf. pic.twitter.com/nC7VBCPILH— محسن رضایی (@ir_rezaee) August 18, 2026