Washington: President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed the United States will not allow Iran to charge tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, sharpening a high‑stakes standoff over one of the world’s most vital energy chokepoints, according to media reports.
Speaking to reporters before Vice President JD Vance’s departure from Joint Base Andrews, Trump flatly rejected Tehran’s reported plans to impose transit fees on vessels using the narrow waterway.
“No, we’re not going to allow that, it’s international water. If they’re doing that, we’re not going to let that happen,” he said.
His remarks followed a string of posts on Truth Social denouncing Iran’s move to introduce charges in a corridor that carries about 20% of global oil and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas, data from energy agencies show.
“The Iranians don’t seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short-term extortion of the World by using International Waterways. The only reason they are alive today is to negotiate!” Trump wrote.
Doubling down in a follow‑up message, he declared: “The Iranians are better at handling the Fake News Media, and ‘Public Relations,’ than they are at fighting!”
The exchanges have refocused attention on legal and political control over the Strait of Hormuz, a lifeline for Gulf producers and import‑dependent economies worldwide.
Ibrahim Azizi, head of Iran’s Parliament National Security Commission, has endorsed a legislative push to introduce tolls in rials under the Strategic Action Plan for Security and Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian diplomatic channels cited by local media and the Consulate General of Iran in Mumbai.
As quoted in an X post by the consulate, Azizi said: “Under a parliamentary proposal, transit fees through the Strait of Hormuz would be paid in Iran’s national currency, the rial. In the Strategic Action Plan for Security and Sustainable Development of the Strait of Hormuz, the government may, if necessary, sign an agreement with Oman; though this is a secondary provision, not the core of the plan.”
Analysts warn that any formal shift in the strait’s regime could further rattle energy markets and global commerce, already on edge amid an over month‑long conflict in West Asia and a fresh two‑week ceasefire arrangement underpinning planned US-Iran talks.
Earlier on Friday, Trump told reporters the United States would have the Strait of Hormuz “open fairly soon” while conceding the task would be difficult.
Trump also suggested that other nations were signaling support but declined to name them.
“Other countries use the strait. So we do have other countries coming up, and they’ll help out,” he said.
“It won’t be easy … I would say this – we will have that open fairly soon,” Trump added.
Tehran’s blockade of the strait since the start of the Iran war has produced what energy analysts describe as the worst disruption to global oil and gas supplies in history, throttling a corridor that normally handles about 20% of worldwide oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
Trump has repeatedly voiced irritation at NATO allies over what he views as inadequate contributions to securing the waterway.
Reuters reported that NATO Secretary‑General Mark Rutte, after meeting Trump, informed European governments that the US president wants concrete commitments within days to bolster security operations around the strait.
The confrontation comes in the wake of coordinated US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and subsequent Iranian attacks on Israel and US bases in Gulf states, while Israeli operations in Iran and Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions, according to regional authorities and international aid agencies cited by global media.
