Washington: The United States will “guard” the Strait of Hormuz and charge ships a toll of 20 per cent of their cargo value to pass safely, President Donald Trump announced, as renewed fighting in the region threatens to spiral out of control.
Trump also said the US would reimpose its naval blockade against vessels entering or departing Iranian ports, the lifting of which was a key part of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in June that is quickly collapsing.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning (Washington time). “We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE [sic], so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving.
“All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The USA will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT’, but as such, and as a matter of FAIRNESS, will be reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped, for any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World.”
Charging ships to use the strait would be a marked departure from the US’ previous insistence that passage through the crucial waterway should be free and open for all. But Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of imposing a toll, including days after the MoU with Iran was signed.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio ruled out any attempt to toll the strait as recently as June 24, after the MoU declared that Iran and Oman would be responsible for its long-term management.
“The whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use an international waterway. It’s that simple,” Rubio said at the time.
“When we [say] open the straits, we mean open the straits free … I know of no country on the planet that supports tolling or a fee for the use of the straits. That’s not going to happen, the president has been abundantly clear.”
Trump’s announcement had an immediate but moderate impact on oil prices, with Brent crude approaching $US80 ($115) a barrel in late morning trade.
Conflict in the region has escalated over the past week after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump declared the ceasefire was “over” and responded with four waves of strikes targeting Iranian radar and surveillance, air defences, drone launch sites and other military infrastructure.
In turn, Iran attempted to strike US military assets in the Gulf using missiles and drones. The IRGC Navy also struck an additional, Cyprus-flagged vessel with an anti-ship cruise missile, and declared the strait was “closed”.
Appearing on Fox News earlier on Monday, Trump expressed frustration with Iran and foreshadowed his intention to take control of the strait and seek financial reimbursement.
“We guarded the strait for 50 years – more – and we never got paid for it,” Trump claimed. It was not immediately clear what he was talking about.
“They made all the money and the United States was just, not, they wouldn’t – it’s amazing. We guarded it for nothing, and now we’re going to guard it, and we’re going to get paid for guarding it – a lot of money.”
More to come
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.From our partners
