President Trump announced Monday that the United States is “reinstating” the naval blockade on Iranian ports following days of renewed attacks by both sides and continued disputes over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
In a morning interview on Fox News and a post on social media, Trump said that the United States will become the “guardian” of the strait and will seek to be “reimbursed” for that. He said that countries besides Iran will have “fair and open use” of the critical waterway, but that the U.S. would impose a 20% fee on cargo going through the strait.
“The U.S.A. 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,” Trump wrote. “The process and formation will begin immediately.”
Trump told Fox News that the United States is “taking over” the strait and is “going to get paid for guarding it, a lot of money.”
The proposed toll would reportedly violate a long-time principle of maritime trade and runs counter to previous U.S. insistence that the strait should remain toll-free, as it had been before the war started.
The International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency that seeks to ensure the safety of international shipping, said Monday that passage through the Strait of Hormuz should remain free of any tolls and charges.
“We have always been consistent on its stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage through straits used for international navigation,” the group said in a statement reported by the Associated Press. “There is no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait.”
What’s next: Trump reportedly notified Congress in a letter dated July 10 that the United States is again at war with Iran, a move that follows a notification he sent lawmakers in May that the war had “terminated.” The letter may start a new 60-day clock before combat operations would have to be halted without congressional authorization — or it may just complicate efforts by opponents of the war to argue that the war never ended.
In any case, as the war with Iran reintensifies, Trump said Monday that he will deliver a speech to the nation at 9 p.m. EDT on Thursday — though that address will reportedly have to do with the president’s oft-repeated claims that the 2020 election was rigged.