An official Iranian social media account labeled California a "new territory" of Iran on Tuesday in response to US President Donald Trump posting an image portraying the Strait of Hormuz as "NEW U.S. Territory."
Trump shared the image on his Truth Social account Tuesday, showing a map of the Strait of Hormuz with the strategic waterway circled beneath the words "NEW U.S. Territory," following up on his earlier remarks saying the strait would be made US territory after the war ends.
The White House later reposted Trump's post on its official account on US social media platform X.
In response, the official Iran in Hyderabad account on X posted a map of the US showing California highlighted in blue, with the words: "NEW TERRITORY OF ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN."
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's deputy foreign minister, also hit back at Trump's post, writing on X: "His delusion regarding the Strait of Hormuz will soon either be corrected, or we will correct the delusions of this delusional man."
California, particularly the Los Angeles area, is home to the largest concentration of people of Iranian descent outside Iran. An estimated 141,000 Iranian Americans live in Los Angeles County, according to the Iranian Diaspora Dashboard hosted by UCLA's Center for Near Eastern Studies.
The Iranian community in Southern California expanded significantly following Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, with the Westwood area of Los Angeles becoming a major center of Iranian diaspora life, commonly known as "Tehrangeles."
The exchange comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington following months of conflict.
Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war and paving the way for a broader agreement, but talks have since stalled amid disputes over its implementation and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Negotiations involving Iran and Oman over arrangements for navigation through the strategic waterway, meanwhile, have continued without a breakthrough.
