(AFP) – President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States was reinstating its blockade of Iranian ports and “taking over” the Strait of Hormuz, where it would levy charges on shipping. The president’s declaration came after US and Iranian attacks of a scale unseen since an April ceasefire in the Middle East conflict, adding to doubts about efforts to bring a permanent end to the war that has curtailed shipping through the strait.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “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 STRAIT,'” he added.
Iran started blocking the strait after the US and Israel launched attacks in late February, which prompted Washington to stop shipping to and from Iranian ports. Those restrictions were eased after the two sides agreed on a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war. Trump’s remarks Monday appeared to revert to the situation during the depth of the fighting, but with Washington now seeking to extract fees for protecting shipping.
The president declared that the US “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. The process and formation will begin immediately.”
Iran’s military command insisted Monday it would not allow the US to “interfere” in the key conduit for oil and gas, while also warning its Gulf neighbors — who have borne the brunt of its retaliatory attacks — against cooperating with Washington. The US military said it hit dozens of targets on Monday, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced new strikes in response on Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, and Oman and insisted that the strait is “closed.”
Speaking earlier Monday on TV, Trump said, “We’re taking over the Strait,” and complained about the tactics of Iranian negotiators seeking changes in what was agreed during hours of talks at the weekend. “Yesterday, they had an 11-hour meeting … And everything was agreed to yesterday. And they leave the room, and they call back, and they say we had to make a couple of changes,” Trump told “Fox and Friends,” without elaborating on what changes were sought.
Trump said that the US had been guarding the strait for “nothing,” but now would be reimbursed by wealthy nations “for doing all of this, for putting our people in danger.” Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said Monday the government was talking with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman in a bid to prevent an escalation in the war. – Matthew PENNINGTON
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