President Donald Trump said Monday he is reimposing a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and declared the United States the "Guardian of the Hormuz Strait," escalating a standoff over control of the waterway after the U.S. launched new strikes against Iran.
Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. would charge a 20% fee on all cargo shipped through the strait. "The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,'" he wrote, adding that the toll would reimburse the U.S. for "any and all costs necessary to do the job of providing safety and security to this very volatile section of the World." No explanation was offered for how the toll system would function, though Trump said the process would get underway at once.
The Iranian military pushed back sharply, issuing a statement declaring that the United States would not be permitted to play any role in managing the strait, according to The Wall Street Journal. Iran had previously declared the strait closed after rejecting American demands that it publicly guarantee the waterway's opening.
U.S. Central Command announced that fresh strikes had been carried out against Iranian targets, according to The Hill — a broad campaign of precision attacks across multiple sites designed to weaken Iran's ability to threaten commercial vessels in the strait. Tehran responded by claiming it had targeted U.S. military installations across the region — hitting Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman in an early Monday wave of missile and drone attacks, according to The New York Times. Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain each said their air defenses intercepted the incoming missiles and drones with no casualties reported.
Restoring the blockade amounts to surrendering what had been Washington's most significant olive branch to Tehran. Trump lifted the original blockade after signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran on June 17, which included language both sides have since disputed over who controls traffic through the strait.
The current flare-up began after Iran seized on a Cypriot-flagged vessel as a pretext, claiming the container ship had failed to comply with Tehran's rules for passing through the strait, according to The Journal. Sunday saw only 14 vessels make the passage — a monthly low that underscored how drastically traffic had retreated, according to satellite-tracking firm Kpler.
Oil markets reacted quickly to Trump's announcement, with Brent crude jumping about 5% to approach the $80-a-barrel mark. At the pump, American drivers were paying an average of $3.87 per gallon — seven cents more than the same time last week, AAA data showed.