Trump says US reinstates blockade of Strait of Hormuz
US President Donald Trump said that 20 percent of all cargo sent through the Strait of Hormuz would be refunded to him after the US restarted its naval blockade against Iran and claimed that Iran had closed the waterway.
“The Strait of Hormuz is OPEN and will remain OPEN with or without Iran. We are restarting the IRAN PACKING,” Trump said in a statement to Truth Social. he said.
“The United States will be reimbursed for all expenses necessary to carry out the job of providing safety and security to this very unstable part of the world at a rate of 20 percent on all cargo shipped,” he said.
He said the process would start immediately but did not provide details.
The US president had previously put forward this idea in a telephone interview with Fox News, saying that the US would probably take over the strait and that compensation should be paid.
In his statement to the broadcaster, he said, “We will keep the Bosphorus and probably operate it. We will be the protectors of the Bosphorus. Maybe we will call it the guardian angel of the Bosphorus. And we should get reward for it.”
Control of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil supplies, has become one of the conflict’s main battlegrounds.
Iran’s effective blockade of the strait has raised energy prices and raised concerns about inflation globally.
“We will be paid back because the other nations are very rich. They are on our side and we cannot be expected to do this in vain,” he said.
After announcing the closure of the waterway on Saturday, which it described as an unauthorized crossing, Iran said on Sunday that the crossing was suspended and that permits would be issued after “stability and tranquility” were achieved.
“We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We made 10 deals with these people, and so we’re going to hit them hard,” Trump said.
2/3Just 25 days after the agreement to end the war, the United States violated nearly all provisions of the agreement by attacking Iran’s transportation infrastructure, fishing vessels, cargo barges, and meteorological facilities and committing heinous war crimes.— Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (@Iran_GOV) July 13, 2026
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Monday that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic through the strait was to end US military interventions in the waterway, warning that “continued interference could lead to larger incidents in the global oil and gas sector.”
US and Iranian forces exchanged heavy missile and drone strikes over the weekend and into Monday; Iran said it struck US military facilities in the Gulf and kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, causing oil prices to rise.
The latest developments mark a sharp increase in both the pace and geographical extent of attacks over the past week and cast doubt on an interim US-Iran agreement signed last month to reopen the strait and cease hostilities while the sides continue negotiations for another 60 days.
