US President Donald Trump on Monday said that the United States is reinstating what he described as “the Iranian blockade” in the Strait of Hormuz, while asserting that the strategic waterway will remain open for all except Iranian ships and their customers.
In a social media post on Truth Social, Trump declared that the US will be known as “THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT”, announcing a 20 per cent fee on all cargo shipped through the Strait.
“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,” he said.
He said that the charges would cover “all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security” for vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz.
“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,” he said.
He further added that “the process and formation will begin immediately.”
Later in an interview with Fox News, Trump alleged that Iran broke a “done deal”, agreed just the night before.
Expressing his frustration over Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz, the US president said, “It looks like they’re back at their business trying to take over the Strait. We’re taking over the Strait. They have nothing.”
“Yesterday, they had an 11-hour meeting and everything was agreed to yesterday. They leave the room and they call back and they say, ‘we had to make a couple of changes’… for 47 years, they’ve been tapping people along… this should’ve been done 47 years ago,” he added.
The development comes a day after Iran said that it was determined to “defend” the Hormuz Strait, asserting that the waterway is “more important than dozens of atomic bombs.”