US President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States will charge a 20% fee on all cargo shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump made the announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social.
He said the US will now be known as the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait.” Trump said this role comes with a cost.
The US will charge 20% on all cargo passing through, to cover the cost of providing security in the region. He said the process would begin immediately.
Trump insisted that the strait remains open. He said the US is reinstating what he called the “Iranian Blockade.” He clarified this blockade only targets Iranian ships and Iran’s customers. All other countries, he said, will have free and open use of the strait.
His post followed earlier comments on Fox News, where he said the US was “taking over” the strait. He said the US would likely run the strait going forward.
Guardian angel of the strait.
He even floated a new name for the role: “guardian angel of the strait.” He said the US should be paid for the service.
Iran responded sharply. A spokesman for Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya military command said Tehran will not allow the US to interfere in the strait’s management under any circumstances.
He warned Gulf countries that helping the US with the waterway would be seen as an act of war.
The warning came as the US and Iran exchanged fresh strikes for a second straight day. Both countries claimed control over the strait.
At the same time as Trump’s announcement, Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority posted on social media that it considers the strait closed.
It blamed what it called hostile actions by US forces. The authority said passage through the strait is currently not possible. It said normal permit processing would resume once calm is restored.
Iran says it has the right to manage traffic through the strait under an interim peace deal reached last month.
It also claims the right to charge fees for passage. The US and other countries disagree. They point to international law on freedom of navigation instead. The US military has also been working on an alternate route that avoids Iranian-controlled waters.
Last week, Trump suggested the interim deal was “over,” even as talks continued. Despite this, mediators from Pakistan, Qatar, and Egypt have kept working toward a final agreement to end the conflict.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important maritime routes. It typically carries about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply.
Iran first imposed a blockade in the strait after US and Israeli strikes on Tehran on February 28. Those strikes killed then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and triggered the wider conflict in the Middle East.
Curated news reports, in-depth analysis, and special features by India’s Opinion editorial team.
