Trump reinstates Iran port blockade and vows 20% charge on cargo passing through Hormuz

Trump insisted in Monday’s Truth Social post that the strait “will remain OPEN with or without Iran.”

“From this point on, the USA will be referred to as the ‘GUARDIAN OF THE HORUZ STRAIT’, but as it stands and in the interest of JUSTICE, all expenses necessary to do 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.”

The US President added that “the process and formation will begin immediately.”

His comments came shortly after he told Fox News that “the US will probably run” the Strait of Hormuz, claiming that Iran has “broken” the agreement with the US.

“We are taking over the Bosphorus,” he said.

Later Monday, U.S. Central Command (Centcom) said its forces “will continue to block maritime traffic into and out of Iranian ports” starting July 14.

“The US military continues to support the flow of traffic in regional waters for all ships not violating the blockade,” Centcom said in a statement. The statement was included.

Responding to Trump’s statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in his post on X: “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever ensures the safe and secure passage of commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz should be paid for this service.”

He continued: “Iran has always been and will forever remain the GUARDIAN of the Bosphorus.”

“20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” Araghchi added.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization (the UN body that regulates global shipping) said, “IMO is strongly opposed to charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,” Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

“There is no legal basis for imposing a mandatory toll just for passage through a strait,” the spokesman added.

Before Trump’s statement, Iran’s top military headquarters had announced that they would not allow the United States to “interfere in the management” of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesman for Hatem Al-Anbiya, said in a statement shared by Iranian media that the US’s “repeated adventurism and malicious actions” in the strait “seriously endanger regional security, international trade and the passage of oil tankers and commercial ships.”

Any cooperation with the US would be considered an act of “war” against Iran’s sovereignty, he added, warning that if the conflict spreads “the flames of war will engulf all the countries of the region”.