Donald Trump says US will resume Iranian blockade, charge 20 per cent toll on Strait of Hormuz
Washington: President Donald Trump announced that the United States will “protect” the Strait of Hormuz and collect 20 percent of cargo values from ships for safe passage, at a time when renewed conflicts in the region are in danger of getting out of control.
Trump also said the United States would reimpose a naval blockade against ships entering or leaving Iranian ports; its removal was a key part of the rapidly collapsing Memorandum of Understanding signed in June.
“The Strait of Hormuz is OPEN and will remain OPEN with or without Iran,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Monday morning (Washington time). “WE ARE BRINGING IRAN PACKAGING AGAIN” [sic]It is so named because it only blocks the entry or exit of Iranian ships or customers.
“All other countries will have fair and open use of the Bosphorus. The United States will henceforth be referred to as the ‘GUARDIAN OF THE STRAIT OF HORUZ’, but as such and in the interest of JUSTICE, all expenses necessary for the performance of the job of providing safety and security to this very unstable part of the world will be reimbursed at a rate of 20% on all cargo shipped.”
Charging ships to use the strait would be a marked departure from the United States’ previous insistence that passage through the important waterway be free and open to all. But Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of imposing a fee, including days after the Memorandum of Understanding with Iran was signed.
As recently as June 24, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio rejected any attempt to transit the strait after the Memorandum of Understanding announced that Iran and Oman would be responsible for the long-term management of the strait.
Rubio said at the time: “The whole world will be against any mechanism that charges money to use the international waterway. It’s that simple.”
“When we [say] Open the straits, that is, open the straits for free… I know of no country on the planet that supports charging or charging for the use of the straits. “This will not happen, the president spoke very clearly.”
Trump’s announcement had an immediate but modest impact on oil prices; Brent crude oil rose close to US$80 ($115) per barrel in morning trade.
Conflicts in the region escalated last week after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps attacked three ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump declared the ceasefire “over” and responded with four waves of strikes targeting Iran’s radar and surveillance, air defenses, drone launch sites and other military infrastructure.
In response, Iran attempted to strike US military assets in the Gulf using missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Revolutionary Guard Navy also hit a Cypriot-flagged ship with an anti-ship cruise missile, declaring the strait “closed”.
US Central Command said the latest wave of attacks was aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to attack international shipping. He released video of a one-way attack drone striking a submarine and ship maintenance facility in Bandar Abbas, saying this was the first time US forces had used maritime drones in combat operations.
Since the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in mid-June, traffic in the Bosphorus has increased significantly and oil prices have fallen. However, according to maritime analysis firm Kpler, between July 10 and 12, transits dropped by 52 percent compared to the previous week.
The company said that ship activities in Iranian-controlled and “dark” routes in the strait have increased, while activities in international waters and on the Oman side, where Iran attacks ships, have “almost disappeared”.
Appeared on Fox News earlier MondayTrump expressed frustration with Iran and heralded his intention to seize control of the strait and demand financial compensation.
“We protected the Bosphorus for more than 50 years and never got paid for it,” Trump said. It wasn’t immediately clear what he was talking about.
“They made all the money, and the United States just did, didn’t, wouldn’t; it’s incredible. We protected it for nothing, and now we’re going to protect it, and we’re going to be paid to protect it – a lot of money.”
Iran’s de facto control of the strait, thanks to Revolutionary Guard drone and missile strikes, has become a problematic legacy of the US-Israeli war against Iran, with widespread economic impacts on countries dependent on energy from the Gulf, including Australia.
Financial Times reported on Monday United Arab Emirates port operator DP World is in talks to build a new port and container terminal on the country’s east coast, which would mean ships would not need to pass the Strait of Hormuz, he said. The cargo will be transported by trucks to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and beyond.
More to come
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
