Trump: US reinstating Iran blockade, will charge fees for managing Hormuz

US President Donald Trump announces that the US is reinstating its blockade of Iranian ports and will be managing the Strait of Hormuz going forward, charging fees from ships that transit the waterway in the process.

“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Trump writes on Truth Social. Tehran has denied that is the case and says it holds the strait.

“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 writes. The US began blockading Iranian ports during the war in response to Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel launched the conflict in late February.

“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,” he writes. “The process and formation will begin immediately.”

It’s unclear who will be paying the US for this effort or whether it is even possible to execute it.

Trump’s announcement of an apparent US toll in the Strait or Hormuz comes nearly one month after Washington signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran that barred Tehran from charging fees in the channel for 60 days. The US and other bodies have repeatedly called out Iran for trying to charge tolls in the channel, arguing that travel through international waterways must remain free.