Iran has responded sarcastically to US President Donald Trump after he shared a controversial map portraying the Strait of Hormuz as part of US territory.
The Iranian Consulate in Hyderabad, India, hit back by sharing its own map that humorously showed California as a new territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The move came after Trump posted a map on social media platform X depicting the strategically important Strait of Hormuz as a US territory. The waterway connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and serves as a major route for global oil shipments.
In an apparent response to Trump’s territorial claim, the Iranian consulate released a map that placed California within Iranian territory. The post appeared intended as satire, mocking the idea of unilaterally redrawing international borders through maps.
California has a particularly large Iranian-American community, especially in the Los Angeles area. According to the Migration Policy Institute, thousands of people of Iranian origin live in California, with a significant concentration around Los Angeles. The strong Iranian cultural presence in the region has also led to the informal nickname “Tehran-geles” being used by some members of the Iranian community.
Trump’s original map drew attention because of the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterway remains one of the world’s most important energy corridors, with a substantial share of global oil and gas shipments passing through it.
Iran’s response quickly turned the dispute into a social media exchange, using humor and symbolism to challenge Trump’s depiction of the Strait as American territory. The Iranian map does not represent any official territorial claim over California and appears to be a satirical political response to the US president’s post.
The exchange comes amid continued tensions between Washington and Tehran, with both sides frequently using sharp rhetoric and symbolic gestures to challenge each other’s policies and claims.
