TEHRAN/WASHINGTON — The war of words between Iran and US President Donald Trump has taken unexpected and sarcastic turn. After Trump claimed that Strait of Hormuz should be considered “new U.S. territory,” Iran appeared to answer with a joke of its own, sharing a map that showed California as part of Iran.
Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad, India, shared a map of the US showing California as territory of the Islamic Republic. The message was clearly intended as a sarcastic response to Trump’s territorial claim rather than a serious announcement of Iranian sovereignty over the state.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran’s consulate in India answered Trump’s Hormuz map by claiming California
The Hyderabad consulate posted a map of the United States with one state highlighted under the caption “NEW TERRITORY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN.”
Trump had posted the strait labeled “New U.S.… pic.twitter.com/SSG42KlkO3
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) August 19, 2026
California was also an interesting choice. The state, particularly the Los Angeles area, is home to a large Iranian-American community. Los Angeles has long been an important center of Iranian culture and diaspora life in the United States and is sometimes jokingly associated with Tehran because of its sizable Iranian population.
The exchange comes as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high over the Strait of Hormuz, a strategically crucial waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. The route is one of the most important passages for global energy shipments.
Trump repeatedly spoken about taking control of the Strait in recent days. He first raised the idea publicly, then repeated it during remarks to police officers on Long Island and again while speaking to reporters at the White House.
On Tuesday, he took the rhetoric a step further by posting a map with the Strait marked as “NEW U.S. TERRITORY.” The timing got everyone’s attention’ . Iranian officials said Strait would remain closed until the United States agreed to a number of demands. Tehran has called for the lifting of restrictions on Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian assets, an end to oil sanctions and the cessation of U.S. military operations.
Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf outlined several of those conditions as negotiations and military tensions continued.
Trump, however, rejected the suggestion that discussions with Iran were underway. He said there were no talks or negotiations scheduled and claimed that the Strait of Hormuz was open and operating. He also said mines in the waterway had been removed or detonated.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi also weighed in, criticizing Trump’s map in a Persian-language post on X. He described the U.S. president’s claim as a “delusion” and warned that the particular “delusion” would eventually be corrected. California map appears to be Tehran’s way of turning Trump’s own rhetoric back on him.
While the map has no legal or territorial significance, the message behind it is unmistakable: if Washington can casually redraw the map and claim the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran can play the same game by putting California on an Iranian map.
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