Trump says US will call Strait of Hormuz ‘Trump Strait’

US President Donald Trump said on late Wednesday that the United States (US) will now call the Strait of Hormuz the “Trump Strait,” adding that the US is “winning” its war with Iran.

“Oil prices will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran, which is taking place right now. We'll win it,” Trump said during a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

“We're winning it. We control the Hormuz Strait. I think we should call the Hormuz Strait, we should call it the Trump Strait. I should get something out of it. The Trump Strait.

“It's going to be called -- ladies and gentlemen, I'll have an announcement -- we'll call it the Trump Strait, and I'm sure the Iranian leadership will be thrilled with that,” he said.

Trump said Iran is “falling apart,” adding that it has been “the bully of the Middle East for 51 years, and they're not the bully anymore.”

He warned that the US might target Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain “because somebody said there was a little movement at the site,” claiming that the US is aware of all movement in the area.

“We know exactly what's going on … I would advise Iran not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard. We have no choice, right?” Trump said. “We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. It's very simple.”

Trump says US is now world’s biggest oil producer

President Trump said on late Wednesday that the US has become the world’s largest oil producer, excluding Venezuela’s vast reserves, which the US recently added to its stockpile. Speaking at a rally in Dallas, Texas, Trump hailed an energy agreement involving Venezuela’s estimated 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, calling it potentially “the biggest deal in the history of our country.”

“Now we’re the biggest in the world, and that’s without Venezuela, which we’ve just added to our little stockpile,” he said.

The White House announced the details of the energy deal, under which North American Blue Energy Partners (NABEP) would grant the Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital a 35% equity stake in its corporate parent at no cost to US taxpayers.

The US State Department would also have the right to purchase 20% of production at cost.

The White House said NABEP had secured 100-year concessions covering 17 oil fields, while Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez had previously described the agreement as a 25-year deal.

The pact is expected to generate $200 billion in royalties and taxes over its first 25 years, according to the White House, with funds earmarked for Venezuela’s reconstruction and social development.