"They want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump said.
Page A6From§Eachthe wee small hours edition — 27 September 2026
NAMING RIGHTS
Trump wants Strait of Hormuz renamed for him, profits from the war keeping it shut, rejects reopening it.
As it ran on the front
On August 27th, financial disclosure forms filed with the Office of Government Ethics showed the president had made more than a thousand stock transactions in June, with thousands of dollars sitting in energy companies pulling in record profits off the war he started with Iran. Six days later, on September 2nd, he posted a question to the internet: should the Strait of Hormuz be renamed Trump Strait, since, in his words, "we have it under U.S.A. control." The chokepoint he wanted his name stamped on is the same one his own disclosed portfolio was riding.
By September 13th, in Ireland, he'd gone a step further, floating the idea that the United States could "stay and keep the oil" in Iran the way it had in Venezuela, and telling reporters the war would "end after the midterm" elections. Not end because a peace was reached. End on a date he picked.…
…(cont) Then Iran tested that timeline. On September 26th they put a seven-day plan on the table to reopen the strait and return to talks for a lasting end to the war. He rejected it, called it not "acceptable," and when asked whether he'd restart strikes, demurred, pointing again past the midterms. His stated reason, to the Post, was that Iran wants the strait open "because they're losing so badly." The man asking to have his name on the strait is the one refusing the plan to open it, while the disclosed portfolio behind that name keeps collecting on every week it stays shut.
The same day, the Post reported the younger Khamenei had to be pulled from the rubble of a hospital after strikes nearly killed him a second time, and has not been seen in public or heard from since. That is the line item the stock filing does not carry.
That is not a coincidence spread over a month. That is a man declining to close a deal his own disclosure forms say he is profiting from keeping open, putting his name on the sign out front while he does it.
“He wants his name stamped on the strait and his stock portfolio stamped by the war that's keeping it shut, and when Iran finally offers to open it, he says no. That's not diplomacy, that's a landlord refusing to fix the pipe he's got shares in. The other side's second family member gets pulled out of hospital rubble twice and disappears, and the guy holding the energy stocks doesn't blink.”
“Look, these are routine disclosed transactions, every official in government owns some energy exposure, that's just how a blind trust — well, it's not a blind trust, but the point stands. And renaming it Trump Strait, that's recognizing American leadership after "we have it under U.S.A. control," it's not — did I just defend that line? That's not what I meant to say out loud.”
The receipts
The younger Khamenei, 56, was pulled from underneath the rubble of one of the hospitals, before going into hiding in an unknown location -- and has not been seen in public or heard from since.
Trump promised he'd meet Putin and Zelensky and settle the Ukraine war within 24 hours - CNN counted 53 separate such promises CNN fact check, 25 April 2025 (all 53 instances)
Trump Rejects Iran’s Cease-Fire Proposal to Reopen Strait of HormuzThe president said the deal was not “acceptable” and demurred on whether he would restart military strikes after the midterm elections.
Iran had presented a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and return to negotiations for a lasting end to the war.
· Trump suggests changing Strait of Hormuz name to "Trump Strait" from the morgue, 2 Sep 2026
· Big Oil Stocks Surged Due to Iran War—and New Filings Show How President Trump Cashed In from the morgue, 27 Aug 2026
· Trump floats idea to 'stay and keep the oil' in Iran, noting Venezuela deal from the morgue, 13 Sep 2026
This page is a back-issue: the story as it ran, receipts as they were. The current edition is at the front. The byline is a pen name for a column drafted by a machine and checked by the editor: how this is made.