Trump Claims US Will Take Over and Collect Tolls at Strait of Hormuz
President Trump declared the US is taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and will charge tolls, sending oil prices sharply higher.
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced that the United States intends to seize control of the Strait of Hormuz, the critical Persian Gulf chokepoint through which a significant share of the world's oil supply flows, and collect tolls from vessels transiting the waterway under American naval protection. The remarks, delivered publicly, immediately rattled financial markets and raised fresh questions about the state of US-Iran relations.
Trump dismissed Iran's military capabilities outright, declaring "Iran has nothing," while accusing Tehran of breaking a prior agreement connected to the Strait. "We had a deal and they broke it," he said, framing the US intervention as a response to Iranian noncompliance rather than an act of aggression. He added that American forces would be "paid for guarding the Strait," signaling a transactional approach to the military deployment.
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The central strategic question hanging over the announcement is whether Iran retains the practical ability to close the Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic — and if not, how long Washington is prepared to sustain a naval presence capable of neutralizing Iranian drone attacks against passing vessels. The answer will shape both the durability of the policy and its cost to US taxpayers.
Markets responded swiftly. West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged $2.68 to $74.09 per barrel on the headlines, reflecting trader anxiety over potential supply disruptions. The euro and gold both dipped as investors briefly shifted positioning, though moves remained contained in early reaction.
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