Trump Plans Address to Nation, Announces American-Imposed Fees on Strait of Hormuz Shipping

After repeatedly rejecting Iranian efforts to charge tolls on ships using the Strait of Hormuz, President Trump says America will charge its own fees on cargo transiting the waterway.“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,” Mr. Trump stated in a Truth Social post on Monday.In another post hours later, Mr. Trump announced plans to deliver a speech to the nation on Thursday at 9:00 p.m. ET. The post didn’t give any indication about the subject of the speech.Iran says an interim peace agreement signed last month gives it control over shipping through the strait, and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has attempted to charge tolls. The Trump administration has rejected that interpretation of the agreement and has repeatedly called for free and unrestricted passage through the strait. Mr. Trump has now pivoted by announcing American-imposed fees.The United Nations agency that oversees shipping, the International Maritime Organization, issued a statement Monday calling for preserving open navigational rights in the strait. “The Council reaffirmed that passage through the Strait should remain free of any tolls and charges, in accordance with international law, including the IMO Convention.”Mr. Trump’s Monday post also announced that a blockade on Iranian shipping is being reinstated. U.S. Central Command said the blockade would be reimposed Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. U.S. East Coast time.Hours earlier, Centcom released footage it says shows attack surface drones successfully striking a submarine and ship maintenance facility Sunday at Iran’s Bandar Abbas Naval Base. It was the first time the Pentagon has used sea drones in combat operations.The American military launched several waves of attacks on targets in Iran over the weekend in response to continued Iranian attacks on container ships.Iran, on Monday, claimed it attacked several Gulf nations in response to America’s attacks. Facilities in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait came under fire. Qatar condemned the attacks as a flagrant violation of its sovereignty. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasizes the necessity of sparing the region the consequences of these unjustified attacks and to advance the path of dialogue, diplomacy, and de-escalation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement issued on X.Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded to Mr. Trump’s post with mockery. “POTUS is absolutely right. Whoever provides secure and safe passage of commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz should be compensated for this service,” Mr. Araghchi wrote on X.“Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is of course too much. We will be fair,” he continued.The spokesman for Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Ebrahim Rezaei, also derided Mr. Trump. “Trump has claimed that he wants to become the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz; we don’t need foreign workers to protect the strait!” he wrote in an X post.Oil prices shot up about nine percent on Monday. Prices were still well below highs during the past four months, but are more than 10 percent higher than they were pre-war.Last week, Mr. Trump said the ceasefire with Iran is over but allowed peace talks to resume. In a memorandum of understanding signed in June, the two sides agreed to stop fighting for 60 days to give negotiators time to craft a permanent deal.“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences – for the peoples of the region, for international peace & security & for the global economy,” the United Nations’ secretary general, António Guterres, wrote in an X post on Sunday.

Trump Plans Address to Nation, Announces American-Imposed Fees on Strait of Hormuz Shipping

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