New York: Donald Trump on Monday declared that the United States will be the ‘Guardian of the Hormuz Strait’.
Announcing the reinstatement of ‘Iranian blockade’, the US President said saying Washington will charge 20 per cent on all cargo shipped through the narrow but strategic waterway as reimbursement for providing security.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE… All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait. The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as ‘THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STR
AIT,’ 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 in his latest post on Truth Social.
Hours earlier, Trump made similar comments in a Fox News interview.
“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,” Trump had said.
Iran says they continue to control Strait
A spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a video message that Tehran “under no circumstances will allow the United States to interfere in the management” of the strait, insisting Tehran continued to exercise authority over Hormuz.
“We continue to assert our authority and control over the Strait of Hormuz with strength and power, and we will force foreign powers and their allies to surrender to the will of the Iranian people,” the spokesperson said.
He also warned Gulf countries that cooperating with the US over the waterway will be treated as “an act of war”.