Trump says US should be reimbursed for taking control of Strait of Hormuz

Trump says US should be reimbursed for taking control of Strait of Hormuz

US President Donald Trump has stated that the United States would likely take over the Strait of Hormuz and argues that the US should be reimbursed for controlling the waterway.

Speaking in a phone interview on Fox News' Fox & Friends programme, Trump described the US as the future guardian of the strategic energy route.

"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,"

Donald Trump, US President, via Fox News

Trump argued that wealthy allied nations, many of whom depend on energy shipments moving through the strait, should bear the financial cost of the security operation.

"We're going to guard it. We're going to get paid for guarding it — a lot of money. 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,"

Donald Trump, US President, via Fox News

Escalating Hostilities

The comments follow a weekend of heavy missile and drone exchanges between US and Iranian forces. Tehran reported that it targeted US military facilities across the Gulf, while the US conducted strikes on Monday in south-western Iran. These strikes targeted three different locations on the outskirts of Abadan in Khuzestan province, an oil-producing region near Iraq and Kuwait. According to Iranian news agencies Fars and Tasnim, citing a province official, two people were killed and three wounded.

Additional strikes were reported by semiofficial Iranian media in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Furthermore, Rebaz Sharifi, commander of the Kurdistan Militia Corps, reported a drone attack on the Chamshar base belonging to the armed wing of the Kurdistan Freedom Party, an Iraqi-based Iranian Kurdish opposition group. No group has claimed responsibility for that specific attack.

The Blockade and Global Impact

The Strait of Hormuz, a critical chokepoint for liquefied natural gas and global crude oil shipments, has become a primary battleground in the conflict. Iran announced the closure of the waterway on Saturday following an unauthorised transit involving a vessel that was struck. On Sunday, Tehran stated the passage remained suspended, noting that permits would only be issued once stability and calm returned.

While Trump claimed on Sunday that the strait was open to commercial traffic, shipping data analyzed by Kpler on Monday showed that tanker traffic fell to its lowest level since May 25. This effective blockade by Iran has already pushed up global energy prices and fueled concerns regarding global inflation.

Ship broker Gibson warned in a report that another prolonged closure would leave the world in a much tougher spot due to rapidly depleted global inventories, creating a risk for tanker markets and tighter supply.

Diplomatic Collapse

The military escalation threatens an interim agreement signed last month, which sought to halt hostilities and reopen the strait while the two nations pursued 60 days of negotiations for a permanent end to the war. The parties are currently nearly halfway through that 60-day period.

Trump indicated that diplomacy had failed, accusing Tehran of breaking agreements.

"We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break it. We've had 10 deals with these people, and so we're just going to hit them very hard,"

Donald Trump, US President, via Fox News

In response, Iran's Revolutionary Guards issued a statement on Monday, asserting that the only way to restore regular shipping traffic is to end US military interventions in the waterway. The Guards warned that continued interference could lead to greater incidents in the global oil and gas sector. They also reported that their navy stopped two ships in the strait on Sunday night by shutting down their systems.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned that a return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences.