President Trump said Monday he wants the U.S. to take control of the Strait of Hormuz and get paid by other wealthy nations for safeguarding commercial traffic through the waterway.
Mr. Trump, who wants to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, proposed the U.S. takeover after losing patience with Iranian negotiators.
“We’ve had 10 deals with these people — and so we’re just going to hit them very hard,” Mr. Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” “We’re gonna keep the strait, and we’ll probably run it.”
Mr. Trump said Iranian ships would be barred from using the strait, effectively reimposing his maritime blockade on the regime, and any foreign ships using the strait should pay the U.S. at a rate of 20% of all cargo shipped.
“We’ll become the guardian of the strait,” he said. “We should be reimbursed for that.”
The strait was open to commercial traffic before Mr. Trump, in coordination with Israel, launched strikes against Iran on Feb. 28 to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
SEE ALSO: U.S. says latest strikes hurt Iran’s ability to attack vessels in Strait of Hormuz
Iran clamped down on the strait in retaliation, causing energy shortfalls and price shocks.
Tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and U.S. forces have eroded recent progress in reopening the strait.
Brent crude prices rose slightly on Monday to $77 per barrel.
The average U.S. gas price stood at $3.87 per gallon on Monday, a 7-cent increase from a week ago and up from around $3 per gallon when the war began on Feb. 28, according to the AAA motor club.
Mr. Trump insists the U.S. has the upper hand through its military might and will win the conflict with Tehran, one way or another.
“They’re a bad group of people,” Mr. Trump said of Iran. “They’ve been this way for a long time. And right now, they’re getting their ass kicked.”
The U.S. military says it used precise munitions to hit dozens of targets in Iran late Sunday, degrading Tehran’s ability to attack international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Central Command said it struck Iranian military air-defense systems and coastal radar sites, plus missile and drone capabilities.
“The Strait of Hormuz is a vital maritime corridor for global trade. Iran does not control it,” the command said.
Tehran says it must maintain some control over the waterway. Its position resulted in new tensions in the strait and a volley of tit-for-tat strikes.
Mohammed Mokhber, an adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said Monday Tehran must manage the strait and would not back off.
“We defend it so that in the future, for the passage of our ships, we are not forced to pay tribute to the enemy!” he posted on X. “Retreating from this vital matter has no place in the mind of any friend of Iran.”
Mr. Trump said he will be the one calling the shots.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran,” Mr. Trump posted on social media. “We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”
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