When US President Donald Trump declares the Strait of Hormuz “New US territory” (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/trump-strait-of-hormuz-american-territory) at the end of August, and after that, Iranians call California a “new territory” of the Islamic Republic (https://caspianpost.com/politics/iran-labels-california-new-territory-following-trump-s-hormuz-post), what do the two countries at war in Persian Gulf actually do with the current geographical map of the world?
Herald a new world? Provoke each other?…
Various other answers are probably possible.
For example, if the winner is establishing itself in a new territory after the successful conclusion of a certain conflict, then the geographical map valid until before that, is likely to undergo adaptation to the new reality. However, in the case of the Hormuz Strait “victory” does not seem to be in sight yet, for either of the involved parties.
On the other hand, when a participant in a still uncertainly long conflict—this time in a replica—calls a part of the opponent’s territory “his own “, how does he choose exactly that part of the territory, and not some other?
In this “cartographic case” it is known that “California hosts the largest concentration of people of Iranian descent outside of Iran, with approximately 141,000 Iranian Americans living in Los Angeles County, according to the Centre for Near Eastern Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (on the first photo). The community expanded significantly after the Islamic Revolution in Iran in 1979, establishing Westwood – better known as ‘Tehrangeles’ – as a major centre of diaspora life”…
Now, when the other day, US President Donald Trump, during the campaign for the November mid-term elections, in the context of increased fuel prices, mentioned in a series of sentences: Iran, “strikes”, Los Angeles, San Diego, the nuclear threat… there was quite a bit of confusion about what the 47th President of US actually meant and said. (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/06/trump-suggests-let-iran-take-out-los-angeles-san-diego).
Trump later said : “Do you want to see the trauma? Want to see the issues? Let them hit San Diego, let them hit Los Angeles…We won’t let that happen. We protect our cities. We are protecting our country.”( https://www.kktv.com/2026/10/08/trump-tries-smooth-over-controversial-remarks-about-iran-striking-san-diego-los-angeles/).
Be that as it may.
It is certain that the key players in the conflict in the Persian Gulf sometimes associate the geopolitical map of their conflicts with California, and, Los Angeles…
Meanwhile, Tehran (pictured) and Los Angeles are separated by about 6,600 nautical miles (about 12,185 kilometers) by waterways, which the US president is considering renaming the “Ocean of Trump” or the “Ocean of America.” https://time.com/article/2026/10/12/trump-atlantic-pacific-ocean-americas-renaming-gulf-mexico-lake-ontario/.
Whatever.
