Hormuz, July 15:
US President Donald Trump declared that the United States would become the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait” and said countries using the strategic waterway would have to reimburse Washington “at the rate of 20% on all cargo shipped” for providing security in one of the world’s most volatile maritime corridors.
He said the Strait of Hormuz would remain open “with or without Iran” as the United States reinstated what he called the “Iranian blockade”, allowing all countries except Iran and its customers to use the waterway freely.
On Truth Social, Trump wrote: “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.”
He added that “the process and formation will begin immediately.”
Hours earlier, in an interview with Fox News, Trump previewed the announcement, saying: “We’re going to keep the strait and we’ll probably run it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Maybe we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait, and we should be reimbursed for that.”
“When we do that, we’re going to be reimbursed because the other nations are very wealthy, they’re on our side, and we can’t be expected to do that for nothing,” he said.
Trump argued that Washington had protected shipping through the strategic passage for decades without compensation. The President also accused Iran of backing away from an agreement reached during recent negotiations.