Trump declares Strait of Hormuz ‘joint venture’ with Iran as Tehran’s tollbooth is set to rake in $1million per ship: ‘It’s a beautiful thing’

Donald Trump has described the US-Iran deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a ‘joint venture’ as Tehran prepares to charge up to $1 million per ship to pass through the world’s most critical oil artery.

Trump announced Wednesday that Iran had agreed to a two-week ceasefire and would reopen the waterway while a 10-point peace plan is negotiated by both sides.

The exact terms have not yet been determined, but ships are required to declare their cargo, destination and owners to intermediary companies affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC); Tolls will be at least $1 per barrel, payable in Chinese yuan or cryptocurrency.

Trump welcomed the idea on Wednesday, telling the ABC: ‘We are considering doing this as a joint venture. This is one way to secure it; it is also a way to secure it from many other people.

‘This is a beautiful thing.’

The Bosphorus, through which one fifth of the world’s oil passes, is called the ‘Tehran Tollbooth’ by analysts and traders. The average bill for a single tanker is $2 million, and only once payment is clear will IRGC patrol boats escort the ship through the “toll booth.”

Some analysts believe this plan could bring Iran as much as $500 billion in revenue over five years.

Hamid Hosseini, spokesman for the Iranian Association of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters, said cargo checks were necessary to prevent the transportation of weapons.

A boat approaches the St Kitt and Nevis-flagged container ship Marsa Victory as it navigates the Strait of Hormuz waters off the coast of Khasab on Oman’s northern Musandam peninsula on June 25.

“Iran needs to monitor what goes in and out of the strait to ensure that these two weeks are not used for arms transfers,” an industrial association with close ties to the regime told the FT. he said.

“Anything can pass, but the procedure will take time for each ship and Iran is in no rush,” he added.

The exact terms of the peace agreement were not disclosed.

Trump said on Wednesday: ‘These are very good points and most of them have been fully negotiated. If it’s not good, we’ll come back very easily.’

Hosseini’s comments indicate that the ships will have to dock on the northern Iranian coast of the Bosphorus, which will raise concerns for marine insurers.

Tankers in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday received a radio warning from Iranian authorities that they would be targeted if they did not receive transit approval.

‘If any ship attempts to pass without permission, [they] It will be destroyed,’ it said in the English broadcast.

Western shipping giants were working frantically to determine the details of whether the Bosphorus had actually reopened.

Maersk, the world’s second-largest shipping company, said it was ‘working urgently’ to clarify the terms.

‘A ceasefire may create transit opportunities, but does not yet provide complete maritime certainty,’ he said, adding that he was maintaining a ‘cautious approach’ and would not change any routes immediately.

If Iran maintains its control of the Strait, it will raise explosive questions for the oil producers’ cartel, OPEC+, and redraw the balance of power in the region.

Saudi Arabia, one of the group’s most powerful members, finds Iran’s control of the waterway unacceptable. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had called on Trump to crush the Iranian regime before the ceasefire.

Ali Shihabi, a commentator close to the Saudi royal court, told the FT: ‘Allowing Iran to have any control over the strait would be a red line. The priority should be unobstructed access through the Bosphorus.’

The ten-point plan, reported by Iran’s Tasnim news agency, states that the United States must accept Tehran’s continued control over the Bosphorus, recognize its right to enrich uranium, lift all sanctions, pay compensation and withdraw all its troops from the region.

Trump said that Iran cannot enrich uranium and that the US will cooperate with Tehran to extract the ‘nuclear dust’ buried deep underground after air strikes.

The President wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday: ‘There will be no uranium enrichment and the US will work with Iran to dig up and clean up all the deeply buried nuclear “dust” (B-2 bombers).’

The White House said the safety of the uranium was verified before the eleventh-hour deal was made.

Trump claimed that the nuclear facility had been closely monitored since it was bombed and said, “Nothing has been touched since the date of the attack.”

It’s unclear whether Trump was referring to the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities in June or more recent attacks during the current Iran war.

Trump said tariffs and sanctions relief were being discussed as part of a peace plan with “many” points already agreed upon.

Trump called the agreement a “complete and total victory” on Tuesday night.

The US and Iran will now begin negotiations over the next two weeks, buying some time to reach a permanent solution.

The situation is unlikely to go smoothly, but oil fell below $100 a barrel for the first time in weeks and US stocks rose.

Following the agreement’s ratification, Trump hailed it as a “great day for world peace” by agreeing to halt the attacks.

Iranians burned US and Israeli flags on Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Iranians burned US and Israeli flags during a demonstration following the two-week ceasefire declaration

The US president said on Truth Social that Iran had “had enough” of this conflict and that there would now be “a lot of positive actions”.

Israel also agreed to halt attacks on Iran for two weeks and the ceasefire will go into effect when the Strait of Hormuz reopens, a senior White House official told Axios.

Iran accepted the Pakistan-brokered deal after China’s last-minute intervention forced Tehran to show flexibility over the economic impact of the war, three Iranian officials told the New York Times.

US crude oil prices fell after Trump’s statement; West Texas oil contracts fell more than 15 percent to $95 a barrel after reaching $116 a barrel early Tuesday.

Trump warned Tuesday morning that if a deal was not reached by the 8 p.m. deadline, “an entire civilization will die tonight and never be brought back.”

Trump said the 10-point proposal was a “workable basis for negotiation,” although he said Monday the deal wasn’t “good enough.”

Vice President J.D. Vance, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff are leading negotiations to end the war that the United States launched on February 28 under the name Operation Epic Rage.

The agreement came after Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif broadcast on the X channel that major progress had been made between US and Iranian negotiators.

Iranians wave flags during demonstration in Tehran

Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week ceasefire to halt military operations and keep the Strait of Hormuz open to oil and gas shipments; Official peace talks will begin in Islamabad on April 10.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the announcement came with a caveat: ‘There are discussions about holding face-to-face talks between the US and Iran, but nothing is final until announced by the President or the White House.’

After the US made a 15-point offer to Islamabad to initiate a ceasefire, Iran made a 10-point counter offer to US negotiators through Pakistani officials on Monday.

The president declined to comment on the 10-point plan, telling Fox News earlier Tuesday: ‘I can’t comment because we’re in heated negotiations right now.’

Sharif had called on both Trump and the Iranian regime to accept a two-week ceasefire before the President finally relented.

‘To allow diplomacy to run its course, I solemnly request that President Trump extend the deadline by two weeks. Sharif said on Tuesday afternoon that Pakistan has sincerely requested the Iranian brothers to open the Strait of Hormuz as a goodwill gesture for a period of two weeks.

‘We also call on all warring parties to observe the ceasefire everywhere for two weeks to allow diplomacy to bring the war to a definitive end, in the interest of long-term peace and stability in the region.’