President Donald Trump announced Monday that the United States will reinstate its naval blockade of Iran and be “reimbursed, at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” through the Strait of Hormuz, a levy he did not explain.
Trump said the strait itself would stay open to every country other than Iran. Hours earlier, in a call-in to Fox News, he said: “We’re taking over the strait. They’ve got nothing.” He added that the US would “probably run it” and “get paid for guarding it — a lot of money.”
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, 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,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
“The U.S.A. 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. The process and formation will begin immediately.”
Trump’s announcement comes amid a flare-up of violence in the Middle East, and two days after Iranian officials declared the Strait of Hormuz to be “closed.”
The United States launched strikes at Iran Saturday in response to an attack on a container ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran claimed violated the U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement. Iran responded early Sunday morning with strikes targeting major U.S. allies in the region.